Noah Baumbach succeeded in making one of the weirdest and darkest films of the past few years when he made the masterful The Squid and the Whale. His latest effort, Frances Ha, is certainly weird, but it is also uplifting and entertaining.
Greta Gerwig stars as the titular Frances, and she's pure indie-acting gold. She and Baumbach wrote a dynamic both co-wrote a dynamic character for Gerwig to portray, and I believe the both did well in knowing Gerwig's range and ability.
Outside of Gerwig's talent, there is one thing you may immediately notice as a viewer: the B&W camerawork. I was able to read an article about the film in American Cinematographer magazine, and Baumbach has also stated that the film was shot the way it was so it could induce a 'certain nostalgia'. And certainly, it did induce a nostalgia of sorts. It reminded me of a certain 50's coming of age film The 400 Blows. Like The 400 Blows, Frances Ha is a film about coming-of-age, coming of age for a character that should have come of age many years ago.
You may be wondering why I have chose not to enclose any summary of any variety. That is because Frances Ha is best viewed as an unpredictable and spontaneous film. Let the film sweep you off your feet. I was certainly carried away by it.
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