With certain films, you're not at all surprised to see the characters break into a joyous dance at the end: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. Bollywood musicals. Animated films like "Shrek" or "Despicable Me." Even the odd raucous comedy like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."
Then there is Noah Baumbach's "White Noise."
Adapted from Don DeLillo's 1985 postmodern novel, "White Noise" — which arrived on Netflix last week following its theatrical run — is a darkly comic, often cerebral meditation on death. Set largely in the world of academia, the film, which stars Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, satirizes the many ways Americans try to quiet their fear of mortality, whether through consumerism, mindless entertainment, conspiracy theories or pharmaceuticals.
