Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach)

[DavidSeven]

IMDb

[DavidSeven]

It's basically exactly what you would expect from a Noah Baumbach ode to the French New Wave and Greta Gerwig. Imagine that in your head, and I'm sure you'll come to a close approximation of the finished film. There's not too many surprises here. To its credit, it mostly held my attention in spite of its aggressively aimless nature. Gerwig's unique charm certainly helps to keep this from feeling too much like insufferable mumblecore. Baumbach also hits some good notes on comedic beats. Does it have anything special to say? Eh, life is apparently confusing in your 20s, especially if you're an awkward hipster with failing artistic pursuits. Am I right, Lena Dunham?

Anyway, I'm sure those who are enamored with Baumbach's previous work will find much to appreciate here. I doubt those who have been put off by the likes of Greenberg and Margot at the Wedding will be converted. For those who fall somewhere in the middle, like myself, it will probably depend on how much they vibe with the film's situations and maybe how much they crush on Gerwig. This is definitely her show.

Mixed bag for me. Still pondering the yay/nay.

[Boner M]

I was a mild nay after seeing it at TIFF last year (those first ten minutes or so... ughhh) but I've been looking back on it more fondly. Even without the word of women I've read or spoken to, its take on female friendships feels more authentic that most films I've seen.

I think it falls short of the best episodes of Girls, mostly because of its insistence on Frances' adorableness throughout. Still, love the counterintuitively cinematic lustre & classic rock soundtrack. No wimpy Sundance indie-folk, yay.

[Pop Trash]

It's a bit shallow I suppose and I kept thinking "Jules and Jim fucked Mutual Appreciation" but I remain in the court of Team Greta.

[NickGlass]

I'll add my ambivalence to the crowd, but I saw it back in September at TIFF and feel like it deserves a reevaluation. At the time I found it be an on-the-nose amusement and not much more; what bothered me most was how manufactured it felt in its whimsy, though. Gerwig is still aces, though.

[NickGlass]

Even without the word of women I've read or spoken to, its take on female friendships feels more authentic that most films I've seen.

I still don't get this exactly, but perhaps that's because I never totally bought into the way Sophie fades away and never questions her decision to be with a boring, suited finance dude (even though, having worked in publishing in NYC, girls marrying guys in finance isn't uncommon--but Sophie is presented as having an edge that's immediately dulled once she starts dating).

[Watashi]

I don't like how this became so neatly tied together at the end with all her friends coming together at one big happy reunion.

Otherwise, this is a fun film, but it's no Greenberg.

[Pop Trash]

Otherwise, this is a fun film, but it's no Greenberg.

I thought the same thing. Greenberg might be my favorite Baumbach film which is weird since the general public seems to hate it.

[eternity]

It's a bit shallow I suppose and I kept thinking "Jules and Jim fucked Mutual Appreciation" but I remain in the court of Team Greta.

I can't believe how perfect that comparison is.

[elixir]

i like this movie more than all of y'all and don't relate to your complaints, but should i adress them?!?! a major dilemma

[Bosco B Thug]

A beat-by-beat perfect little confection that chooses to look at the warm and quotidian aspect of cosmopolitan 20-something life, where a long winter vacation back in the suburbs doesn't have to register with an excessive dramatic happening and abjection (definitely not in small order in this film) is just another thing to be nostalgic or tenacious about ("I like things that look like they're mistakes."). I guess this is a departure for Baumbach? I miss the acid, probably, but I like the pristine cinematic approach. I liked Greenberg but I suppose Baumbach absolutely makes the most of the French New Wave channeling. This film pronounces things very well, nothing mumbly about it, that's why it's great.

[eternity]

I'm still hung up on the Mauvais Sang homage and how...unthreatening Adam Driver is in black and white.

[Yxklyx]

Loved this! Probably my favorite Baumbach film.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

When the dance instructor tells her there aren't any teaching opportunities, and Frances is almost relieved.

"That's what I figured, I'm really just proud of myself for asking."

Loved this.

[dreamdead]

A little bit of a minor film in that it is basically channeling Stillman and that aesthetic--and some of the projecting preciousness might be legit. But the middle of the film, when Frances is sabotaging any grace offered to her, was nicely caustic. The encounter with Benji and his girlfriend of the moment was delicious, as she's considering going to Paris...

[ledfloyd]

When the dance instructor tells her there aren't any teaching opportunities, and Frances is almost relieved.

"That's what I figured, I'm really just proud of myself for asking."

Loved this.

This is me.

[Boner M]

I can't believe how much this has grown on me. Disliked it at TIFF last year, nearly loved in on second viewing, and have been thinking about it nonstop since.

(I was a month from turning 27 on first viewing, so maybe my different reactions speak to its age-specific resonance)

[Rowland]

I kind of expected my response to be a shrug. You know what's a pretty great movie? This one right here.

[Ezee E]

This and Ain't Them Bodies Saints are the two bigger movies I missed this year.

And Bad Grandpa.

[Irish]

But the middle of the film, when Frances is sabotaging any grace offered to her, was nicely caustic.

This was my favorite element of the film -- she doesn't get that the people around her are making lives for themselves & moving on & that she's about five years too old to be living how she's living and about ten years old to still be an apprentice.

The whole thing was charming & a little said & made me nostalgic for New York. (Although, I do agree with Watashi that it came together a little too cleanly in the end, but hell, it still made me smile. Happy endings.)

[Henry Gale]

Yeeaaah... Can't really say I felt anything overtly positive about this as I watched it or now in retrospect. There are intermittent moments of delight, and nicely unique conversations and interactions between its characters now and then, but it just has endless other bits that could've been fruitful but feel haphazardly crammed into montages and even bigger scenes with more breathing room that seem to fly in an out of the film without leaving a real mark on itself or me.

Maybe my expectations were too high. But even though I definitely wanted to love it, it just became apparent after a while that it was too insular for me to find a way into it and too stylistically enamoured with itself for me to find intervals to jump in and become invested enough to care about it.

At a certain point, fully immersing a story into the lives of people so assuredly and gleefully pompous without a narrative thrust that pushes them towards things more interesting than they find themselves kind of rubs off on the storytelling and tone of everything. I hate to say I was glad everything suddenly worked out for Frances only because it meant I could opt out of the experience of her not being happy.

[Winston*]

Probably the only film I've nearly turned off after half an hour out of irritation, then ended up liking.