Greta Gerwig, star and co-writer of Frances Ha, is a good influence on Noah Baumbach. They met when she co-starred in his 2010 film, Greenberg and their collaboration has now yielded something I can actually recommend. I have always had difficulty warming up to the director’s misanthropic view on life. Except for his work with Wes Anderson, his characters have largely been rather repellent. That’s what makes Frances Ha such a nice surprise. Our lead is a comparatively upbeat oddball, albeit infused with an undercurrent of woe. Baumbach’s pessimistic attitude is still there, but you have the feeling that there’s a light at the end of this tunnel.
Frances is a 27 year old living in Brooklyn. She’s an apprentice for a dance company but hasn’t accomplished her dreams to become a full blown dancer. She has a boyfriend, to whom she cannot commit. Conversely she has a very close relationship with her best friend Sophie. However Sophie has recently gotten engaged and is moving out. Now Frances has an apartment which she cannot afford on her own. She attempts to rectify these setbacks with little to no success. Gentle and self-effacing, she charges ahead undaunted by all the curve balls thrown her way. The story is made up of fragmented pieces that yearn to create a fully formed whole, much like our protagonist.
Frances Ha is an amiable slice of life drama detailing a totally realized personality. Baumbach has decided to shoot the action in digital black and white. It lends a picturesque polish to an unforgiving portrait of New York. Her daily frustrations take on a whimsical quality. These problems almost seem like fantasy. At times Frances is endearing, and at others, you just want to shake her until she finds some focus. She exists passively going through life with a certain fatalism that can occasionally grow a little annoying. But on the flip side, there is an awkward charm to Frances. Her conversations defined by the actress’s effortless delivery as if she’s making up her dialogue on the spot. Her date Lev, whom she is treating to dinner, asks what happened when she disappears to get cash from an ATM after her credit card is declined. “I’m so embarrassed; I’m not a real person yet,” she sheepishly replies. She is still a child flirting with adulthood, but at least she is forging an attempt. For once Baumbach offers us a sympatric individual. Greta Gerwig has everything to do with Baumbach’s kinder, gentler direction. I give my stamp of approval on this romantic and creative partnership.
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