Greta Gerwig

Mickey Sumner

Michael Zegen

Adam Driver

Charlotte d'Amboise

Patrick Heusinger

Michael Esper

Grace Gummer

Josh Hamilton

Maya Kazan

Justine Lupe

Britta Phillips

Juliet Rylance

Dean Wareham

Hannah Dunne

Daiva Deupree

Isabelle McNally

Vanessa Ray

Lindsay Burdge

Marina Squerciati

Christine Gerwig

Gordon Gerwig

David Salem

Isaac Salem

Anna Salem

Laurie Aloisio-Salem

Daniel Roose

Courtney Coffin-Jensen

Kristine Jensen

Doug Craft

Timothy Mickiewicz

Tre Borden

Connor Mickiewicz

Laura Parker

Serena Longley

Barbara Ross English

Peter Scanavino

Ryann Shane

Danish Hyder

Teddy Cañez

Gibson Frazier

Cindy Katz

Cohlie Brocato

Finnerty Steeves

Michelle Hurst

Molly Lieber

Eleanor Smith

Alex Moore

Gregorio Franchetti

Matthew C. Hart

George Drakoulias

Branka Mrkic

David Feeney-Mosier

Luciano Vignola

Paul Hsu

Noah Baumbach

Scott Rudin

Grace Benz

Tessa Maffucci

Hannah Rothfield

David Brant

Lila Yacoub

Martin Scali

Eli Bush

Lourenço Sant'Anna

Sasha Vitelli

Rodrigo Teixeira

Jennifer Lame

Oscar Boyson

Henry Russell Bergstein

Sam Lisenco

Tyson Bidner

Douglas Aibel

Fernando Loureiro

Anna Adams Stark

Jonathan Urband

Sam Levy

Robert Wagnerman

Zachary Treitz

Comedy

Drama

Frances Ha

Scott Rudin Productions

RT Features

Pine District Pictures

Brazil

United States of America

I sometimes equate this movie to waking up from a satisfactory sleep with the perfect amount of alcohol in the good ol' intestines, slowly coming to the realization that you have shit to do, responsibilities to attend, new lies to create, new truths to discover. We find Frances in a similar state at the beginning of the film, though she has yet realized the consequences of her actions.

When her best friend, Sophie, decides to move out and pursue other goals, Frances initially ruminates in their apartment alone. Having broken-up with a boyfriend over her refusal to live with him, Frances bounces between living arrangements. For most of this film, all of Frances' decisions seem terminal, as she can never settle in one place - whether it be at Benji and Miles' bachelor pad, France, her parents' house in California, or a dorm at her old university; this coupled with her unfulfilling job as an extra dancer in her company. She soon abandons everything in the interim of Sophie's engagement and move to Japan.

For a comedy, the movie has a sadness to it that is inescapable, sadness due to the fact that throughout much of the movie, Frances is alone. The friends she makes come and go, not because she lacks the ability to keep them, but because of the turnstile nature of life. The paths she takes lack a certain introspection and responsibility. Benji's date even points out the superficial economic implications of using a credit card to travel to Paris for the weekend, whereas Frances is more concerned with reading Proust. She ultimately has to face the question of identity in a nomadic lifestyle, and decide between instability and control. It is this viewer's opinion that _Frances Ha_ reaches a conclusion located somewhere in the middle - in that gray area on a drunken night where the room spins around the bed, and the only reprieve is a foot placed on the floor.

Nathan

Frances Ha worked really well for me. The performance from Greta Gerwig was brilliant, she carried the film. There is a perfect balance of quirky comedy and heartbreaking drama. I was giggling and tearing up constantly at the journey of Frances. But the overall story was a great ride that ends with such a satisfying conclusion. It is a fantastic feel-good story about self-discovery and perseverance. Noah Baumbach is not one of my favorite directors, but this was definitely a hit for me.

Score: 75%
Verdict: Good