Quirky in film has never been my thing. The hit Zooey Deschanel show "New Girl" does it pretty well but in movies...it never seems to impress me. That is...unless you're Greta Gerwig. Gerwig is not only an adorable actress but she is the only person I can think of who is born to play quirky and goes quite far with her quirkiness. I think Deschanel is great at quirky but unlike Gerwig...she never goes far enough with it. But enough with comparing two actresses. The new black and white indie mumblecore film Frances Ha is just further proof that Gerwig is willing to go incredibly far to please her audience. In this particular film (which she co-wrote along with her current boyfriend Noah Bambauch)...she makes Frances into a likable but intrepid character. The film itself, however, lacks.
The film stars Gerwig as Frances...a 27 year old dancer whose best friend, Sophie (Mickey Sumner) goes off to live with her boyfriend. Bewildered by life...Frances meets Lev and Benji (Adam Driver and Michael Zegen) and moves in with them. Soon enough...Frances is chasing her dreams all over the world.
The film itself is way too wacky for no reason. It is also quite boring a lot of the time and thinks it's much cooler than it actually is. Just like Frances...the film thinks that it's successful when really it's just kind of a bore. Director Baumbach (who previously did the phenomenal films The Squid and the Whale and Greenberg) takes a break from his usual downbeat method of storytelling to take a more silly approach to film. This doesn't work at all. However, all that is almost forgiven because Gerwig is so damn good. Gerwig gives the character of Frances more life, substance and adorableness than is deserved. Although Frances is quite audacious in the things that she does and says....Gerwig someone manages to make her into an incredible likable human being. I don't know how she pulls it off but she definitely does.
The black and white imagery is refreshing although it didn't really add anything to the film. It's like a beautiful woman who can't make decent conversation...easy on the eyes but doesn't bring anything new or interesting to the table. The supporting cast is alright but they don't really do anything particularly great. Lev and Benji both start to become quite grating, in fact. Sumner makes Sophie a likable enough character but doesn't give her 1/4 of the substance that Gerwig gives Frances.
I could almost recommend Frances Ha for Gerwig's performance alone. I can't quite do the film that service, however. For most people...this will probably be a love it or hate it kind of film. For me...I'm on the fence about it. I'm neither close to loving it nor hating it which is a shame because I love Gerwig and just about everything she's in.
(2 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for sexual references and language)
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