Frances Ha was one of the best films of last year (well, technically the year before); an entertaining and touching comedy that deals with the sense of confusion that many people in their mid to late twenties feel as they try and find their place in the world.
There isn’t much story: we simply follow twenty seven year old Frances, played by Greta Gerwig, as she struggles in her career and personal life. This is not, however, a film that deals with love and sex. In fact Frances’ lack of a love life is the least of her problems. Her dreams of being a dancer are slipping away from her and so is her best friend, who has decided to grow up and move on with her life. Frances is exceptionally childish and, as she says in her own words, is “not a real person yet”.
Gerwig is simply fantastic as the often unlikable Frances. She manages to make a selfish, irritating character sympathetic. She is in every scene but her presence never outstays its welcome. As things get worse and worse for her the more loveable she becomes.
Gerwig co-wrote the fabulous screenplay with Noah Baumbach, who also directed the film, which was on digital in black and white. The Blu ray looks fantastic, but I would argue that you would get the same enjoyment from the film no matter what format you see it in. It’s really all about the characters and performances.
The movie is not perfect. Sometimes the light hearted soundtrack seems a little forced. The scenes are funny enough without the music telling us so. When I saw the film in the cinema, I found the first third quite hard to watch. All the characters seem to have everything going for them and it isn’t until later, when things get truly desperate, that I began to care. This second time round, however, I appreciated the entire picture.
Frances Ha perfectly represents the world many twenty somethings live in now. Showing how delayed adolescence, a longing for artistic achievement and the realisation of how hard it is to obtain success, can lead to a sort of quarter life crisis. It manges all this in an extremely funny and moving way. A must see, especially for those in their mid to late twenties.
[rating=5]
Harry Davenport
Genre:
Comedy, Drama, Arthouse
Distributor:
Metrodome Distribution
Rating:
15
DVD/BD Release Date:
6th January 2013 (UK)
Director:
Noah Baumbach
Cast:
Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver
Buy Frances Ha:Blu-ray
