Review of Frances Ha (2013) by Tom D — 08 Aug 2013

"Quirky" "Hipster" "Lena Dunham." These terms get thrown around a lot when describing pretty much any movie young (or young-ish) people living in New York. Rightfully so? Perhaps.

They are usually thrown around with a lot of disdain, citing the self-natured and blissfully ignorant point of view that a lot of characters in these pieces see the world through. However, the simple fact is, these people do exist and probably deserve to have movies and TV shows made about them because their lives (to some people at least) are pretty interesting and funny.

Anyway, Frances Ha is one of those movies and it's titular character is just as self-absorbed and unnecessarily manic as one might expect. After exiting her current comfortable living situation, the film follows Frances for about a year as she falls headfirst into a world of silly roommates and re-evaluation of her dreams.

It's a lot people sitting around drinking wine, discussing friendships, cringing through Frances' awkward and often inappropriate sense of humor. Greta Gerwig's performance is hilarious and feels at times disturbingly genuine.

The quick and well-written script goes to some pretty uncomfortable places but even when you cringe, you always want more. Noah Baumbach's chose to present the film in black and white and it often makes the occasionally mundane scenery seem strangely beautiful.

Baumbach's sophisticated direction, Gerwig's charming performance, along with their joint screenplay that features just the right amount of genuine character progression and life lessons all comes together into one of the most enjoyable comedies of the year.