Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain in “Scenes From a Marriage.” Photo: HBO Max.

Israeli writer and show creator Hagai Levi’s “Scenes From a Marriage” shouldn’t have worked. True, Levi has the chops from HBO’s “Our Boys” and Showtime’s “The Affair,” and he won the Israeli Academy Award for “BeTipul,” which became the American show “In Treatment.”

But the first of the five episodes of “Marriage” — his new show on HBO Max — goes at a snail’s pace. It’s almost all dialogue. Most scenes take place in a house. It’s mainly just two characters, though we are eventually treated to an appearance by Michael Aloni, of “Shtisel” fame, who hits the mark in a small but pivotal role.

In the end, however, the series makes you hang on every word.

The reboot of Ingmar Bergman’s original has some differences with its predecessor, but they all work. Oscar Isaac (who played  Mossad agent Peter Malkin in “Operation Finale”) plays Jonathan, a formerly Orthodox Jew. Now, he is much less religious. He teaches college. His wife Mira, played by Jessica Chastain, is beautiful and somewhat sweet, though slowly but surely, we see the problems in their marriage. It’s hinted at when they see someone who interviews them as part of a study for couples where the wife is the breadwinner and the husband is the primary caregiver; she works in tech and is a vice president. A friend named Peter (Jewish actor Corey Stoll) has a sort of open relationship with his partner Kate (Nicole Beharie), and there’s a bit of foreshadowing.

The timing and cadence of the lines delivered by Isaac and Chastain are masterful. The writing is stellar and unpredictable. The fourth episode, which is the best one, features so many verbal shots fired from Isaac and Chastain that you’d think the pair would need a bullet-proof vest to protect themselves. In a survival of the fittest, we wonder how their marriage can survive. In the final episode, Mira jokes to Jonathan, asking if he is going to kill her, and we know it’s mostly a joke, but there is a slight hint of danger.

The actors have such amazing chemistry with each other, you’d think Isaac and Chastain were married in real life.You will likely find yourself rooting for their marriage to work at times, and at other times rooting against it. Your allegiance may also change.

In a small role in the finale, Tovah Feldshuh plays Jonathan’s mother, and he argues with her about the marriage of his parents, calling his father unattractive, and tells her one of the good things about his father dying is that she will be able to drive, as the father would never let her before. Jonathan wears a yarmulke at his father’s funeral out of respect.

We learn that Jonathan first became intimate with Mira on Purim after he had an asthma attack. This is a bit too on the nose (he couldn’t breathe without her, and they were wearing masks, so they were deceptive and only later in marriage saw who they really were) — but given that the whole show is so superb, we can forgive this obvious metaphor.

Some cathartic confessions are a kick to the gut, and Isaac and Chastain graduated from the same Julliard class, and have reportedly been friends for 20 years.

“Scenes From a Marriage” is difficult to watch, but it’s not all doom and gloom. It also poses the question: are we on this earth for pleasure or purpose? It’s clear that Levi has one. As to the battle between the two main characters, I’d call it a draw. But there is no doubt this show is a winner.

The author is a writer based in New York.