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| Greta Gerwig & Mickey Sumner |
Director: Noah Baumbach
Stars: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Grace Gummer
Genre(s): Comedy; Drama
DVD Release Date: November 12, 2013
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Frances Ha is, to put it mildly, an unusual movie, that at first glance appears to be nothing special or glamorous. It is special, in its own quirky way, but it isn't glamorous, and literally so, seeing as the film was shot in black-and-white (a rarity in cinema these days, aside from the Oscar-winning The Artist). Frances Ha stars indie darling Greta Gerwig (Damsels in Distress) -- who also co-wrote -- as mostly-likable 27-year-old Frances, who has been spending the majority of her time with her best friend, Sophie (Mickey Sumner). Frances aspires to be a dancer, and is apprentice in a renowned company in New York, but can't quite seem to get her footing, metaphorically speaking. Frances Ha is only 86 minutes long, but that is more than enough time for director/co-writer Noah Baumbach (Greenberg) to showcase the ups and downs of Frances' life and, in particular, in relationship with Sophie.
At first, I was unsure what to make of this movie, and was expecting to be bored and counting down the minutes until the credits rolled. Yet, fortunately, I found myself entertained -- in a way that only this type of movie can be -- and rooting for Frances, despite (and perhaps in spite of ) her faults. She is scatter-brained, and at times has no social filter, but she clearly is willing to work hard at achieving her dreams. Therefore, Gerwig is the ideal actress to portray this character, in all her glorified clumsiness. Frances Ha is perhaps what HBO's Girls might be if there was not so much sex, and Lena Dunham toned down her OCD tendencies. Like many fairly recent college graduates, Frances (and Dunham's Hannah) are struggling to survive in the big city, their finances dwindling, yet not losing sight of their aspirations. While her continual downward spiral may seem to escalate a bit much, for the most part it remains highly authentic, as is the rest of the plot.
The dialogue is seemingly realistic, and Gerwig's line reads are nearly all spot-on, in addition to those of the supporting cast members, such as relative newcomer Sumner. Gerwig and Sumner are pretty in geeky ways, and their chemistry is so believable and palpable that any flaws in the narrative -- specifically, the unevenness of it, at times -- are irrelevant. Both Adam Driver (Girls) and Michael Zegen (Boardwalk Empire) excel as Frances' temporary roommates, with two distinctly and occasionally hilarious personalities.
Gerwig and Baumbach's script is sometimes eccentric, sometimes funny, sometimes heartwarming, which all combine to make Frances Ha a very unique film, that drags only slightly. With its short running, small supporting actors like Grace Gummer (The Newsroom) and Patrick Heusinger (Revolution) are given little time to develop their roles. Additionally, some of the edits and cuts between scenes become too difficult to follow, such as the montage of Frances with her parents (played by Gerwig's real parents), although the cheery tone of those episodes contrasts greatly with the sullen one that comes later.
Frances Ha is also, in a way, Baumbach's love letter to New York, and perhaps the black-and-white filming emphasizes the general gray hue of the city. This type of cinematography is not distracting; rather, it reminds the viewer to focus on the characters' actions, not their outfits. The movie may not win any awards, with the exception of a slight possibility for a Best Original Screenplay nomination, but it is certainly worth my time. I found it worth my time, and almost wished it was longer than 86 minutes.
Grade: B+
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