It’s a miracle that Greta Gerwig emerged as one of our most exciting filmmakers working today, considering that her roots began in the much-maligned subgenre of mumblecore. Peaking in the 2000s, mumblecore is a style of indie, microbudget light dramedies heavy on improvisation between actors in their twenties discussing the mundane struggles of young adult life. Defined by handheld camera work and light plot mechanics, they were quick and cheap to produce, which flooded the market and made audiences wary of their, at times, insufferable tone. However, when done exceptionally well, as seen with Frances Ha, which received a slightly higher budget and generational talent in co-writer/director Noah Baumbach and co-writer/star Gerwig, its themes of twentysomething aimlessness can have a profound impact. She may not have directed it, but Gerwig, who distilled all her interests and sensibilities in her grounded but magnetic performance as the titular Frances, transformed into the artist she is today.
The Mumblecore Genre Peaked With ‘Frances Ha’

Image via IFC films 

In a post-Barbie world, film audiences will now eagerly await whatever Greta Gerwig’s next project will be, which is set to be a Narnia adaptation for Netflix. Any director possessing her level of cachet is extraordinary, especially considering the innate bias and lack of freedoms usually given to female directors. The actor-turned-filmmaker has come a long way since her co-directorial debut with Joe Swanberg, Nights and Weekends, a quintessential mumblecore romantic drama. Everything that came to define her solo efforts, Lady Bird, Little Women, and Barbie, traces back to her starring role in Frances Ha, directed by her future husband, Noah Baumbach. The film follows a protagonist akin to Saoirse Ronan’s titular Lady Bird, Frances (Gerwig), a confident, free-spirited woman in New York City who is equally directionless in life. An aspiring dancer, she works as an apprentice at a studio, but her dreams seem to be dwindling by the minute as she struggles to find temporary living quarters and maintain her friendship with Sophie (Mickey Sumner). At under 90 minutes and shot in black-and-white, Frances Ha is a slice-of-life of the constant turbulence of NYC compounded by the never-ending mania of a vagrant 27-year-old trying to get by. The rapid-fire progression of youthful life portrayed in Lady Bird was first deployed in Baumbach’s film. It’s a film envisioned by obsessive cinephiles, evident by the clear stylistic and thematic homages to the French New Wave and Annie Hall, but it always stays close to intimate human experiences. This combination of gritty, documentary-like filmmaking and slick formalism right out of the François Truffaut playbook resulted in a magical film. This heightened, albeit glossier and more expensive mumblecore movie, does not feel hindered by its limited scope but rather embraces its dingy interiors and streets of New York.
‘Frances Ha’ Laid the Groundwork for Greta Gerwig’s Filmmaking Career

Baumbach’s camera glides through the various neighborhoods while Frances rushes to an engagement she’s tardy to with the grace of a nature documentary. Even though the titular character is practically broke and becoming disillusioned with her passion for dancing, her radiant charm and spontaneity allow her to be an icon for everyone in their twenties. Thanks to Baumbach’s snappy but measured direction that locates the odd beauty of hunkering down in a cramped NYC apartment, Frances Ha’s ineffable qualities make it a satisfying film to re-watch. The film, based on its similarities in tone and structure to Lady Bird and Little Women, feels like a tight-knit collaboration between Gerwig and Baumbach. Although she’s clearly a director with impeccable control and an idiosyncratic vision, Gerwig stepping in front of the camera in one of her own movies would be welcome. Her on-screen persona, effervescent and poignant in the same breath, was perfectly translated into her auteur self. It’s no surprise that Gerwig and Baumbach would eventually wed, as the director romantically captures his lead actor with all the emotional beauty in the world.

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What makes Gerwig’s revelatory performance as Frances is that it highlights her flaws and shortcomings as a person who resorts to selfish and short-sighted decisions. Baumbach, who rarely gets credit for his hilariously biting cynicism, sympathizes with Frances’ plight, as his own background as an indie filmmaker parallels similar struggles to realize your dreams in a world designed to suppress creativity. Greta Gerwig, who also starred in Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg and White Noise, used the template of Frances Ha, which features zany comedy and profound sentimentality, to establish her career as a director. Life as an aspiring artist in your twenties is tedious and unfulfilling, yet it moves with the energy of the wildest party on the block. Frances is a woman of multiple paradoxes, yet she wouldn’t have it any other way, which matches Baumbach and Gerwig’s confidence as collaborators.

Frances Ha

Release Date

May 17, 2013

Runtime

85 Minutes

Director

Noah Baumbach