Watching his films, you might get the impression that
director Noah Baumbach is a dyed in the wool pessimist. While movies like
“Greenberg,” “The Squid and the Whale,” and my personal favorite, the
underrated “Kicking and Screaming,” have sharp bitter edges, his latest,
“Frances Ha,” is his most hopeful, least combative work to date. The fact that
this is collaboration with star Greta Gerwig might have something to do with
that, and the events are largely autobiographical on her side of the equation.
If a purportedly true-to-life tale about aimless upper
middle class twenty-somethings striving to find direction in their lives makes
you want to run screaming for the hills, then by all means, avoid “Frances Ha”
like a pox-ridden leper. Because that’s exactly what this movie is, and it
embodies the inherent positives and negatives in such a scenario. At the core,
the story is about friendship, chiefly between Frances (Gerwig) and her college
BFF Sophie (Mickey Sumner), and about trying to figure out exactly what the hell
you want to do with the limited amount of time you have on this rock.
As a subject, this is an extremely easy topic to relate to.
We all have times where we feel directionless, like we’re being pulled along by
forces we have no control over, without a goal to work towards. And we’ve all
seen friendships dissolve in front of us. Those pieces of the film are very
real. When the film focuses on these struggles, the relationships between the
characters, is when it is the strongest.
There are, however, a couple of really big problems with the
movie. First, as much as we can commiserate, the problems of a couple of
mid-twenties white kids finding meaning and purpose after college isn’t all
that interesting to watch anymore. It’s difficult to make that story stand out
after we’ve heard it so many times, and the way in which Gerwig and Baumbach
attempt to do this, lead us directly into my second major gripe with “Frances
Ha.”
Much of the film, especially in the early going, is too
concerned with bestowing quirks and eccentricities upon each and every last
character. For example, Benji (Michael Zegan) collects vintage Ray Bans. They’re
proud of themselves for the most minor, pedestrian accomplishments—like asking,
but not even receiving, extra shifts and work—and preoccupied with being super
self-aware; and say obnoxious things like they’re life is like a sitcom. So
much of the script comes across as Gerwig trying to turn real life into a movie
script, and it is crushed under the weight of its own self-appointed cleverness.
Just because people are bored and self-absorbed and drink too much and smoke
too much, doesn’t make them fascinating or remarkable or dramatic. Given the
current cinematic landscape, it feels generic, dull, and tired. We get it,
Frances, you’re passionate and full of life, but how many scenes of you dancing
through the streets of Manhattan do we really need to see?
These attempts to portray their self-aware, irony soaked
lives, are obvious attempts to synthesize a Woody Allen sensibility with a
French New Wave aesthetic and feed it to a new generation who will be awestruck.
“Frances Ha” spends too much time packing in the idiosyncrasies and referencing
film history, and not enough time with the people underneath all of these
surface concerns. It distracts you from the emotional core of the film and
keeps you from really connecting with anyone until it is almost too late. The
plot is formless and drifts, much like Frances herself floats from apartment to
apartment, as her life gradually starts to suck and then ultimately redeems
itself.
It is in this redemption and reconciliation that “Frances
Ha” hits a stride and is most engaging. Gerwig has a great charisma on screen,
and while everyone is trying so hard—both the actors in their performances and
the characters in their lives—to be something they’re not, she’s the only
natural one. An aspiring dancer, she breaks down while everyone around her is
either living a rich-parent-supported lifestyle, or advancing in their personal
and professional lives. Things that used to charm people become awkward and off
putting, and her alienated rants and rampant insecurities are what propel you
through the movie.
This bouncing back and forth in quality makes “Frances Ha” a
frustrating movie to watch. There are so many elements that are like nails on a
chalkboard. Most people in this movie are thoroughly unlikable, almost everyone
except Frances in fact. Eventually she sheds most of her affectation and you
want good things to happen to her. But even though the film pulls it together
for a strong finish, the story never amounts to much. Nothing ever feels
particularly important, the film is unbearably hip, and you wonder why you’re
supposed to care. It’s fine, but isn’t anything special.
Then again, maybe I’m a cranky old asshole who just doesn’t
get it anymore. People can’t shut up about “Frances Ha.” The film just played
at the Seattle International Film Festival, opened up around the country, and
is garnering rave reviews from every corner. Hell, on a per screen basis this
earned more money than “Star Trek Into Darkness” over the weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment