Frances Ha | 2013 | Noah Baumbach | IFC Films | May 17, 2013
Frances Ha, the latest effort from indie darling Noah Baumbach was one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. I went into the film knowing as little as possible aside that it was directed by Baumbach in black and white and revolved around two friends in NYC. What I got was one hell of a little film that has a lot to say about youth, friendships, and coming to terms with the realities about ourselves.
Our protagonist is the frustrating, yet loveable Frances who is adoringly played by Greta Gerwig. You see her interact with her best friend Sophie (Mickey Sumner) across NYC and it seems like they have the sort of friendship that is too good to be true. Frances expects to live with Sophie forever, and ends up ruining a relationship in the beginning of the film assuming that she will live with Sophie forever. This scene is brutally awkward and almost cringe-worthy in a Lena Dunham Girls way. There is a very Dunham nature to Frances Ha that is partially due to the film’s focus of mid-20’s youths trying to figure their shit out in New York. Ironically, Adam Driver is in the film and can’t help but remind you of his legendary Adam portrayal in Girls.
The decision to shoot the film with digital black and white gives off character traits of Woody Allen classics as well as French New Wave. There’s a loveable whimsical nature about Greta Gerwig’s character as she floats from place to place living in different places without every truly living there. Her friendship with Sophie becomes troublesome and it throws her life off sync even more than it already was. Frances has an unstable job as a dancer in a dance company that really has no room for her. She lives awkwardly temporarily with two new friends Benji (Michael Zegen) and Lev (Adam Driver) and is deemed “undateable” by Benji. But to all my fellow male viewers, you will be thinking that the loveable Frances is anything but undateable. Sure she has her fair share of problems, but she’s adorable in a way that almost touches “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” status.
This is Greta Gerwig’s film and she will leave quite the impression on many hearts. Many scenes contain just her walking or awkwardly springing across New York or Paris, letting her free spirit do all the talking. The scenes with her and Sophie are natural as can be, you really do see them as one identity, not just two best friends. If you don’t know Michael Zegen or Adam Driver yet, you really should. Driver is the best thing about Girls, and Zegen made a memorable appearance on The Walking Dead last year. They kill every scene their in as Benji and Lev.
Baumbach’s decision to shoot the film in black and white in present day New York is refreshing and works tremendously to the films advantage. The vintage look gives present day NYC and entirely different feel and moves at the pace of it’s characters who feel like they belong in the 70’s more so than today. This is also helped by the soundtracks use of cuts from Paul McCartney, T. Rex, and David Bowie. It feels grounded and real watching all these twenty somethings trying to figure it all out. There are lots of cool shots by Baumbach, and techniques such as showing the new addresses of Frances as time goes on. It followers her as her life seems to become more and more unsettling, something that many of us can relate to. We don’t know where we’re going, who we will get there with, and how to solidify a future for ourselves. These are all tropes that have been done before, but Baumbach does it in a way that is easy on the eyes and a pleasure to watch.
It didn’t surprise me to learn that Baumbach and Gerwig are romantically involved, as the camera followed Gerwig in a romantic way that is hard to ignore. They also wrote the script together. Still, Gerwig delivers a great performance that the film builds around. Her chemistry with Mickey Sumner (Sting’s daughter) is impalpable and one of the most romantic things you’ll see on screen all year even though its strictly platonic. Frances’s chemistry with Benji & Lev is equally as fascinating. I would have like to see their friendship explored more. There was romantic tension that stirred between both of them that was never fully explored or touched on that I wish the film explored. Other than that, I can’t think of any other problems that I had with the film.
At just under an hour and a half, Frances Ha will blow by you as quickly as it arrived. It is a smooth ride that may be one of Baumbach’s best works yet. It’s a must see this year, and a refreshing viewing during a season weighed down by big expensive blockbusters. Frances Ha will find a way to stick with you in more ways than one, acting as impressionable as it’s loveable lead.
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