Frances is an awkward but hilarious 27-year-old living in New York and striving to make it into a ballet company.
She is “undateable”, as a housemate constantly reminds her, unmarried and has no plan or idea for what she truly wants out of life.
Her best friend Sophie (Mickey Sumner) is moving out to live with her boyfriend, has a successful job and is heading in a different direction to the “much older-looking but doesn’t have it together” Frances.
Shot in black and white, Frances Ha, directed by Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) is a story about friendship, jealousy, disappointment and sticking to your dreams.
Greta Gerwig who plays the heroine (and also co-wrote the script) is gangly and full of life, which adds to the charming qualities of the film.
In a beautiful moment Gerwig walks frantically down the street, spinning around to David Bowie’s Modern Love—any soundtrack that includes Bowie is already a winner in my books.
The scenery is beautiful and enhanced by Baumbach’s choice to shoot in black and white, particularly when Frances travels to Paris on a whim, a scene which highlights her desperate need to get out of her self-created rut. Comparisons can also be made to Woody Allen’s films, particularly Manhattan.
Amazingly, despite all her struggles Frances is still able to remain cheerful and she does make a positive transition at the film’s end.
This upbeat, arty and charming film will place an irrepressible smile on your face.
by Isabella Pittaway
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