Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2012): USA

Reviewed by Christopher Connor. Viewed at Metropolitan Paseo Nuevo Cinemas.

Black and white. New York. Alienation. Searching for oneself. Loneliness. Many of you might read this and immediately roll your eyes, raise your hands to the heavens, and complain that it’s been done before, and one too many times at that. But Noah Baumbach’s recent movie, Frances Ha, has all of this, and believe it or not, it’s still fresh. With the help of the movie’s star and Baumbach’s co-writer, Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha provides a nice little movie to start off the summer.

We’re introduced to Frances through a series of shots with her best friend forever, Sophie, bonding and having fun with each other. With this, we already can tell their relationship is the most important in the movie, and one that really means something to both of them. But it’s quickly revealed that Frances and Sophie are at somewhat of a crossroads. Frances is still struggling in her dance company while Sophie has a good job and has the opportunity to move to a better part of town. She takes it, leaving Frances to fend for herself.

What follows is Frances’ attempt to find meaning in her life now that she is being forced to “grow up”. She moves in and out of places, and it’s these different addresses that serve as chapters in Frances’ journey. At one of these apartments, she makes a substantial connection with two well-to-do guys, one being Adam Driver (Girls), and seems to be just barely making it, while they seem to be floating by with relative ease. As work fails to provide for her, and Sophie becomes increasingly distant, life for Frances’ becomes ever more disillusioned. A line in the film that perfectly sums it up is when she is asked why her job is hard to explain,she responds “…because, uh, I don’t really do it”. That’s what seems to be her problem throughout. She doesn’t do it. The reason seems to be a mixture of unmotivation and forces beyond her control.

Though the movie surely has a romantic feel, Frances isn’t bogged down by boy problems. There are times during the movie where it can be misinterpreted that there is some sort of lesbian attraction going on between the two friends, but that surely isn’t the case. That’s one aspect that makes this little movie so refreshing. Their closeness and friendship is so strong, that many people have to liken it to homosexuality, which is interesting. There definitely is a lot of love between them, but it’s platonic love, and a strong one at that. Sometimes all you need is friendship, and romantic relationships take the back burner.

With all that said, Frances Ha isn’t a brooding self reflective piece. Sure, there are times of loneliness and all that, but it’s also very warm and funny. Greta Gerwig’s charismatic personality and the grand romantic music make sure of that. Gerwig ultimately does a fantastic job as the title character and it’s nearly impossible not to want to be her friend. She may seem childish and narcissistic at times, but she’s in her twenties, and isn’t sure what she wants to do. Let’s give her a break, alright?

The movie itself has been likened to Woody Allen’s Manhattan, mainly because of the setting, the black-and-white format, and the themes. As well as the Woody resemblance, there is a nice French New Wave feel throughout. The soundtrack is composed of many George Delerue songs, famous for his French New Wave movies and Baumbach even goes as far as to have one of his character’s name drop Jean Pierre Léaud. Neither come off as forced, though, and are nice little references to his influences.

Frances Ha just feels good. It’s fun. It’s sad. It’s romantic. It’s about friends. It’s about finding your place in this huge uncaring world. It’s about love. It’s about growing up. It’s about staying young. It’s about life.

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Published:
06.18.13 / 1pm
Category:
Films