To call a movie “heart-warming” would be almost the kiss of death in some circles. It would imply a kids’ movie, or at least a story involving a lost and shaggy dog. “Frances Ha” is neither of things.
Frances, played brilliantly by Greta Gerwig, is a young woman living in New York trying, not very successfully, to make her way as a dancer. Despite set-back after set-back, including what seems like the loss of her best friend, Sophie, Frances refuses to be crushed by circumstance.
Frances, played brilliantly by Greta Gerwig, is a young woman living in New York trying, not very successfully, to make her way as a dancer. Despite set-back after set-back, including what seems like the loss of her best friend, Sophie, Frances refuses to be crushed by circumstance.
Very poignant for me is a montage of little scenes, where Frances returns to visit her parents in California. For Thanksgiving, I think. How perfectly it captures the sense of disconnection Frances feels. Here is a world she can never return to. Familiar yet alien. She is surrounded by familiar voices and familiar conversations but none of them seem relevant anymore. In this part of the movie, and in all parts really, the writing is superb. Every bit of dialogue seems authentic. One cannot imagine wanting to change a single word. How extraordinary to discover that Gerwig not only gives us a dazzling performance as the film’s central character, but is also co-writer of the movie!
It is impossible for the audience not to be sucked in to Frances’s world. We root for her, almost from the beginning. An underdog, but not in any clichéd Hollywood sense. She is a layered and quirky character. “Undateable” as one of her close friends likes to call her. Though clearly everyone watching her exploits thinks she is extremely dateable and only needs to find the right person.
Most surprising and wonderful of all, however, is that this rather strange romantic-comedy is really not about sex at all, neither between man and woman nor woman and woman. It is about friendship. It is a hymn to best friends who, in this case, just happen to be two women. And how beautifully the tale is told. One leaves the cinema feeling good for Frances and optimistic about the possibilities of human relationships in general.
Bravo, Frances!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Ha
It is impossible for the audience not to be sucked in to Frances’s world. We root for her, almost from the beginning. An underdog, but not in any clichéd Hollywood sense. She is a layered and quirky character. “Undateable” as one of her close friends likes to call her. Though clearly everyone watching her exploits thinks she is extremely dateable and only needs to find the right person.
Most surprising and wonderful of all, however, is that this rather strange romantic-comedy is really not about sex at all, neither between man and woman nor woman and woman. It is about friendship. It is a hymn to best friends who, in this case, just happen to be two women. And how beautifully the tale is told. One leaves the cinema feeling good for Frances and optimistic about the possibilities of human relationships in general.
Bravo, Frances!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Ha
