Review of Frances Ha (2013) by Dierregi — 25 Aug 2014

Frances is an "apprentice" dancer - which is hard to believe since she is very ungainly. Apart from "dancing" she never worked a real job in her life. Frances shares an apartment with BFF Sophie, in a sort of a "celibate" lesbian relationship (at least, from Frances' side).

Both girls have boyfriends, but Frances has no problem with dispassionately dumping hers, when he proposes she moves in with him. Unfortunately for Frances, Sophie actually moves in with her man, Patch. Frances, feeling hurt and betrayed (more strong lesbian vibes) cannot pay rent and moves in with another couple of slackers. Then she gets "temporarily" sacked from the dance company she works for and "sort of" runs out of money.

This does not stop her from flying to Paris for a weekend and from refusing a job as a "mere" accountant, which would not fulfil her artistic delusions. She meets with Sophie and Patch and comes to terms with them getting married. In the end, Frances accepts the "normal" job and moves into her own apartment, while maintaining her status as "undateable".

Shot in black & white, by director Baunbach, the movie tries and fails miserably to look like a mix of French nouvelle vague (specifically Jules & Jim) and early Woody Allen (specifically Manhattan).

Gerwig plays Frances as a lethargic young woman, lacking elegance and discipline, which presumably are needed for such a competitive and physical profession. Sophie is played by one of Sting's children and one of Streep's daughters plays another dancer, completing the cast of VIPs. Neither shines, but I guess being mediocre actresses will not hurt their careers.

Baumbach and Gerwig were (still are? Really don't care) a couple during the filming. Actress/director relationships usually produce mediocre movies, and this is just another one to add to the list.