Like a (much) better version of HBO’s Girls, I thought this was Baumbach’s most positive film so far, while still retaining his usual sardonic wit and mordant humor. Greta Gerwig has another star turn as the titular character, a 27 year-old “model/dancer” with a bubbly outlook on life despite going through a somewhat rough patch in her life. Which sounds incredibly clichéd (or at least shows the limits of my writing capabilities), but the script goes through enough winding roads to keep you keyed-in to her fate. Gerwig is all kinds of likable, and manages to never become annoying, staying relatable throughout. A pretty big deal as anyone who’s sit through the aforementioned Girls can attest (the connection with which is furthered by the appearance of Adam Driver as a rich-kid artist).

This being Baumbach there is still some hate to go around, though it stays mostly on the edges this time. There are a lot of manifestations of the somewhat vacuous bourgeois lifestyle that is so prevalent in a certain NYC population nowadays, a lifestyle with which Frances is completely at odds. Yet by focusing on his main actress and her inner struggles, it never feels like the movie is just about her career/money problems in relation to the success-mecca that is New York. A large part of her issues stem from her slowly-degrading relationship with her best friend and ex-roommate Sophie, who is entering the kind of committed relationship that the two probably made fun of constantly when they were partners in crime. In a way Frances Ha felt like a rom-com, except with friendship instead of romance (friend-com? ugh), although Frances’ love-life is also featured to great effect. A minor gripe is that it would’ve been nice to see a little more diversity in the cast.

The cinematography, on which the late (and great) Harry Savides apparently assisted, is tremendous. I am naturally biased toward black and white but it works especially well here. The score was a little too new waveish, but it never felt too obtrusive either.
All in all a very pleasant experience. I hope Baumbach keeps working with Gerwig.

B+

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I really despised his last two films and how hateful they were.

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I was fearing one of those twee, romantic looks at 20-somethings in New York, but Baumbach acknowledges that trap by poking fun at the idea. equal time is spent laughing with and at the characters' obliviousness, with smart winks to the camera throughout (Sting's daughter complaining about aimless rich kids posing as artists).

Gerwig is the rightful star though, reminding me of Kristen Wiig's fantastic performance in Bridesmaids. different movies, but their life issues, self-destructive patterns, aloofness and main relationship all mirror closely. Gerwig's messy room is Wiig's broken taillight.

other influences are heavy, from Woody Allen to The 400 Blows, but it's really more like homage -- if you're going to have Gerwig stumbling down the sidewalk like a drunker, older version of Antoine Doinel, you might as well use the original music too.

even at 86 minutes, the second half gets a little winded, especially when it concludes the way you'd imagine from the start. and some of the references get a bit too meta, like when Frances actually *goes* to Paris for the weekend, or the constant location titles that want to remind us we're in NYC.

those are minor bruises, however. this was light and enjoyable.

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>some of the references get a bit too meta, like
>when Frances actually *goes* to Paris for the weekend

As if to say "Yes, the thematic similarities to the nouvelle vague are intentional."

_
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is a wink at the camera, sending Frances to Paris was grabbing the camera and shoving a DVD copy of Breathless up to the lens. just a little much for me.

loved the movie tho.

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If you have seen these movies, where does Frances Ha rank?

<<Mood...Poppy Okotcha in Look 1 at Ashish Fall 2016
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa7KBq0q5bU

Yea I loved this shit. Might be number 10 in my top ten this year.

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America from 9:00 on: https://youtu.be/GUwLCQU10KQ

Paris, while not having an income, just so she had a place to lay her head for 2 days?
And, wow....talk about having someone look out for you: her boss kept that job position open just for her?????? In NYC?
I wish I knew a person like that.
But yeah, cool film. A good character study of a drifter.
She lived quite the lofty lifestyle for someone lacking stability.

type of shit of just trying to live day to day.

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America from 9:00 on: https://youtu.be/GUwLCQU10KQ

I'm in my 30s and still 'not a real person yet.' Shit hit me hard.

Will definitely be in my top 10 for the year.

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America from 9:00 on: https://youtu.be/GUwLCQU10KQ

Like we have a friend in that position down to capable making an impulsive trip to paris because she felt awkward at a dinner party.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

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<---https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL9AVTQ

there aint no universal "i haven't figured out life" bullshit going on either

not only was Frances awkward, she was unlikable in the way many modern young adults are unlikable because of they're completely unaware of their self-absorbed naivety/privilege.

she was a shitty friend and intellectually impoverished. and all that roomie liked her but didn't tell her and she didn't read/acknowledge it shit is so played out and annoying i wanted to punch my laptop

nothing happened! nothing! it was hardly funny and is considered artsy only because it's shot in Black & White

the only parts that rang "true" or honest where when she went back home or that depressingly alone trip to Paris

fuck this movie

of the movie was to not like the character.

All the negative things you said about the lead are true, and you got that impression because the filmmakers wanted you to have that impression. Mission Accomplished.

the filmmakers did want you to like Frances, or in the least be empathetic to her and her "struggle"

i chose to speak on her character and as to why the theme of "a young artist trying to figure out his/her life" doesn't work. which is why many people have related to or praised the film.

from a technical standpoint there is nothing remarkable about it: lighting, scene composition, pacing or editing. from a plot perspective it is nothing more than exposition with a rather forced (and bourgeois) moment of crisis, not even conflict. and the acting was mediocre at best.

but why am I speaking to a man who thought Elysium was a good movie

gee that does not happen often here,lol.

I flunked both Frances and Elysium. Right now both of them are tied for worst film of 2013.

The point was not for you to not like the character. The film was clearly affectionate toward her.

I'm not saying you had to like her, I know a lot of people who didn't, but the goal was definitely for you to be empathetic towards her "problems", not for you to think she sucked.

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>but the goal was definitely for you to be empathetic
>towards her "problems"

And I was.

I don't think she sucked.

Also, I enjoyed the movie.

Maybe you were suppose to like Francis as a person but at the same time recognize her selfishness, immaturity, self-absorbedness and other negative character traits.

I don't think we were suppose to feel a tremendous amount of sympathy for her plight that she didn't have much money or a place of her own and seemed to be drifting through life. I think the "Bitch, get a real job like everyone else and don't think you are too good for office work" which was my reaction is exactly what the writer/director intended.

So the fact that folks felt frustrated by Francis shouldn't be a criticism, that's exactly the point.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

Okayplayer's 13 Best Songs of 2013
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1oqjQg5iG0kixstemTCUgT0b8cSMNfN-

You'll only feel empathy if you feel for her. It's not like her problems are problems most people automatically empathize with.

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That's fair, but I also think the so-called "negative" character traits Buddy referenced were basically intended to be seen as a reaction to her anxiety about crossing the threshold into adulthood, her inability to find success in her chosen career path, her frustration that her friends are "growing up" and leaving her behind, and her general fear of the unknown.

Her situation might not be universal, but those seem to be pretty common concerns for a lot of people in their mid-20s.

(From Buddy G's post:)
>I don't think we were suppose to feel a tremendous amount of
>sympathy for her plight that she didn't have much money or a
>place of her own and seemed to be drifting through life. I
>think the "Bitch, get a real job like everyone else and don't
>think you are too good for office work" which was my reaction
>is exactly what the writer/director intended.

I don't think you even need to feel "sympathy" for her, or even consider her issues to be particularly serious. They were just shit that was causing someone in their mid-20s to have mild anxiety and light depression. I know that I'm around the same age and I've had a plenty of days where I sit there thinking...is THIS really it?

Anyway, the "bitch, get a job" thing is, kind of what she ends up doing. At the very least, she comes to the realization that her "dream" of supporting herself as a dancer isn't going to come true.

The essay that came with the Criterion edition of this had an interesting point: the "score" for most of the first half of the movie is taken directly from 60s French movies, but when she actually gets to Paris, there's mostly no music at all. In other words, she wants to live her life like it's a movie, but when she get to Paris, she finds that it's NOT magical and it DOESN'T resemble being in a movie. She's just alone and a couple thousand dollars in the hole. That's where the romanticism ends.

So that's where she realizes she can't keep living in an imaginary movie and has to become self-sufficient. By the end of the movie, she's made it there. Or, at least, part of the way there. Ha---.

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>Her situation might not be universal, but those seem to be
>pretty common concerns for a lot of people in their mid-20s.


Right and I think Baumbach nailed a certain naval gazing generation of young people. What I thought separated the work from Girls or another work that might try to make you sympathize with that character is that when Frances finally took the job she didn't want it wasn't framed as a defeat and her selling out her dreams but rather was seen as a positive moment of her growing up.





**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

Okayplayer's 13 Best Songs of 2013
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1oqjQg5iG0kixstemTCUgT0b8cSMNfN-

>>Her situation might not be universal, but those seem to be
>>pretty common concerns for a lot of people in their mid-20s.

>Right and I think Baumbach nailed a certain naval gazing
>generation of young people.

Having gone to Duke, I know these people. Hell, I probably qualify as one of these people (I'm Benji).

I thought the movie was good if slight-- it's certainly a billion times better than Baumbach's last two films-- but there are some moments that really take off and it was hard to not see that movie as a mirror with my reflection within.

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