It was a sad day for the cinematic
vocabulary when Andrew Bujalski uttered the term mumblecore, forever rendering it impossible to
discuss any low key indie talkies without referencing the dreadfully named
genre but such is life. Frances Ha sees
the M-word’s favourite leading lady (Greta Gerwig) joining perhaps its greatest
patron (Noah Baumbach) for a neat little take on the bummer of getting left behind.
It’s a bit Girls, maybe a bit Manhattan, but Frances Ha can, respectfully, stand on its own.
Frances (Gerwig) and Sophie (Mickey
Summer) are two over-educated underworked friends living out the Brooklyn dream
as they slip into their late 20s. “We’re basically the same person but with
different hair” gushes Frances whenever asked about her joint-at-the-hip best
pal. Sharing an apartment and seemingly co-dependent the girls look happy
enough until a Wall Street “gotta take a leak” suit named Patch comes into
Sophie’s life. The new love interest unknowingly drives a wedge between the
pair and so a rudderless Frances is left to face the first-world grind without the support of her closest confidant.
As with all of Baumbach’s films
the self-loathing laughs cut uncomfortably close to the bone, at one excruciating point
Frances finds herself at a dinner party of Sophie’s new friends and must face
the ruthless observation: “you look older than her, but sort of, less grown
up.” Frances does her best to ignore it all and power-pop dance her way to some
level of contentment but it all seems so futile. Her efforts to maintain a
youthful nonchalance lead her to all sorts of problems; eventually culminating
in an off the cuff, credit destroying and hilariously crap lost-weekend in
Paris. Given the raw facts it would be difficult to not draw some comparisons
to Lena Dunham’s Girls- Adam Driver
even plays a role- but Gerwig’s naivety provides a solid antithesis to the
often self-obsessed show. Baumbach has always been interested in these off
putting charlatan types but Frances breaks the cycle by being, well, quite sound.
Baumbach gave Gerwig what was
arguably her first break playing a youthful distraction for Ben Stiller’s mid-life
crisis in Greenberg, since then she’s
chalked down credits for such art-house royalty as Whit Stillman and Woody
Allen but she still retains a sort of pleasant normalness and as Frances she
brings all that goofy charm while never going too manic pixie dream girl. A call from Wes Anderson looks inevitable.
