Frances Ha

Frances Ha (2012)

Runtime: 86 minutes

Directed by: Noah Baumbach

Starring: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Michael Zegan, Charlotte d’Ambroise

From: IFC

Will the upcoming Barbie be set in Sacramento, California?

A movie seen because… I made an offhanded remark about Barbie? Yes, this actually happened-naturally on a messageboard. That film was brought up and I remarked how I haven’t seen anything directed by Greta Gerwig, only saw her act once (in the awful The House of the Devil; she was not one of the reasons why that movie stinks), and the only Noah Baumbach I’ve experienced was his contributions to the De Palma documentary. Those two indie darlings teaming together to bring a pop culture icon to screen… still sounds bizarre to me.

Someone mentioned that I should either see this or Lady Bird; to be frank, both had the chance to be deemed “insufferable indie films” so that’s a reason why both hadn’t been viewed around the time they were released, let alone anytime after the fact. Frances Ha was picked… because it’s available on the Criterion Channel. Oh, don’t worry, the idea of seeing an aspiring dancer in New York City having her dreams slowly whittle away-not exactly in my wheelhouse but not something I’ll automatically reject either.

I realize this won’t be a popular opinion but I can only say that this was “fine” overall instead of “great”, “masterpiece”, or any other superlative. Ultimately, while I didn’t hate these characters, I was way more ambivalent about these cigarette-smoking hipsters than anything else. The movie does address worthwhile concerns about relationships yet I wish I cared more. I’m glad many were more able to connect with this than I could; it was obvious to me even before looking on Wikipedia afterwards that the French New Wave was an inspiration for the filmmakers. I don’t even love everything in the genre I’ve seen, admittedly…

At least it wasn’t a movie I found to be insufferable, that’s the highest compliment I can give—actually, that is perhaps not true. Hearing Bowie’s Modern Love was a pleasant surprise; Hot Chocolate’s Everyone’s a Winner was a genuine shock. Rather than bemoan how this wasn’t a hit with me, instead I’ll shrug my shoulders and move on.