Frances Ha

          Frances Ha is an independent film that comes from the forty-three-year-old, up-and-coming writer-director of The Squid and the Whale. He and his girlfriend, Greta Gerwig, who stars in the film as Frances, cowrote the screenplay of Frances Ha. Shot in black and white on a Canon DSLR, this movie is about a twenty-seven-year-old girl (Frances) who lives in New York City. When we first meet her, she is living with her best friend Sophie (Mickey Sumner), who she met in college. However, Sophie is about to move in with her boyfriend, Patch. Frances is really broke, given that she gets paid as a dancer, but is not offered many jobs. Unable to afford the apartment that she and Sophie had shared, she begins her journey as a wanderer, living with different people around the city that never sleeps. One apartment she stays at for a little while belongs to Lev (Adam Driver) and Benji (Michael Zegen). Driver is great as always, and Zegen is charming as his Benji maintains a flirtatious friendship with Frances. 

          The editing is quite different from that of most films. It cuts from scene to scene fast enough that I actually missed a scene. Not to say that the whole movie was chop chop chop, but at times the pace sped up rather swiftly. I thought the black and white added to the artfulness of the film. This style was actually chosen to reflect that of Woody Allen's Manhattan. I think that many people found this movie to be very unique and refreshing. Personally, I've seen the story before. Look at Lena Dunham's work, especially her indie hit Tiny Furniture. That's about a girl in Brooklyn who is trying to find herself, while starting to get old enough to be expected to know her identity already. After watching Frances Ha as a cohesive piece, the shy glimpses at brilliance became apparent to me. The way the dialogue circled around was inspiring and intriguing. The realistic relationship between Frances and Sophie -- one that continues to be challenged by distance as well as outsiders coming in between the two girls' friendship -- is heart-warming. Plus the end reveal of the origin of the title is just the perfect fit for Frances' quirky nature. 

          A second viewing will do me much good, but altogether I found Frances Ha to be a charming story of friendship and the silly choices we make as we grow older.