Review of Frances Ha (2013) by John M — 21 Nov 2013

Sometimes slice of life can only be so interesting. So this is about an aspiring dancer (Greta Gerwig) who is having difficulties getting her life together. This is from the acclaimed director Noah Baumbach, who directed The Squid and the Whale (which I still have not seen) and Greenberg (which I actively hated), and I can't say that I'm a fan of his direction style.

When you watch this, it is not long before you are asking yourself, "Okay, so what's the point?", and there really isn't one, or at least there isn't one that I could deduce. I really do honestly like this lead actress, as she is both beautiful and talented, but she's playing this character that's stuck in arrested development, and she isn't terribly likable; sure, it's always interesting to have a character that isn't completely honest with his or herself, but she is flawed to the point of being difficult to relate to.

This movie is only 85 minutes long, but because there isn't a narrative structure, it feels twice as long, and the only good thing I can say about it is that the characters aren't as infuriating as in Greenberg.

This is super art house and not for main stream audiences, and even if you do take in indie movies, there's an excellent chance you're not going to like it either.