'Frances Ha' Explores a Clever Comedic Approach to Late Millennial Maturity

Best friends Frances (Greta Gerwig) and Sophie (Mickey Summer) have their ups and down in Frances Ha.

For any twenty-something millennial wavering between clinging to the freedoms of adolescence and assuming the duties of being a responsible adult, Noah Baumbach's (The Squid and the Whale) Frances Ha paves a modern-day odyssey that rides the fine line of being too close for comfort.

Frances (Greta Gerwig) is a 27-year-old dance apprentice, who like many her age haven't accomplished much in her life, let alone catapulted her career as a professional choreographer and dancer. Bouncing from one house to another, Frances is heavily dependent on her friends' charity, but still desires to prove her worth as an independent adult.

The majority of Frances Ha's success should be attributed to Greta Gerwig, whose double threat as the film's co-writer and lead actor, anchor a solid understanding at depicting an American-based film stylized as one in a laundry list from the French New Wave. There's no hiding the fact that Frances Ha is a dear project to Gerwig, even to the point of throwing in a shoutout to Gerwig's hometown Sacramento for a brief scene.  

Despite a brief 85 minute runtime, Baumbach and Gerwig struggle with maintaining a consistent pace throughout the film. Frances Ha is bogged down in a dialogue-heavy screenplay, which invites audiences into Frances' screwy lifestyle, however some scenes stretch beyond what's necessary. Others are chopped to a brief few seconds, yet resonate stronger without any use of long-winded dialogue.

And while the film's primary goal is to take Frances from one point in her life to a better off point in her life, the people around her except for her best friend Sophie (Mickey Summer) serve the series of conversation pieces and nothing more. Fortunately, Baumbach and Gerwig invest a great deal into Summer's Sophie to convey a sense of genuine tension whenever she and Frances are at odds with one another.

Frances Ha finds its strongest footing in expressing the film as a journey littered with moments of being an artist in a dog-eat-dog world. From New York to Sacramento to Paris, there's never a dull moment as Frances attempts to ground herself into an adult lifestyle. When Frances hits a roadblock in achieving what she wants in life or missteps in her friendships, Gerwig makes certain that the temporary pitfalls matter to the audience.

Baumbach presents Frances Ha in black-and-white, which isn't an absolute requirement for the film to function. However, there's something to be said about monochromatic visuals that offers up a timeless vibe fully aware how to set up the film's quirky tone. Seeing Apple products and smartphones used in a black-and-white setting doesn't seem natural and takes a while to get accustomed to.

Frances Ha is a serious exploration of what it means to be an adult in the body of a witty comedy thanks to Gerwig's stellar performance and writing. At its root, Baumbach and Gerwig send audiences home with a powerful message about friendship and transforming oneself into an full-fledged adult later in life, which is more and more common with the latest batch of twenty-somethings.

Funny, clever and full of spirit, Frances Ha is a fine example of a coming-of-age story that doesn't quite target the general populace, but to those trying to make a name for themselves as up-and-coming creative additions to society.

GRADE: B (8/10)