After finishing a class on Hollywood and the Civil War in which I watched for the first time Gone with the Wind — a movie that was much more agreeable despite its length than I would have expected — I am still of the conviction that a small movie has as much appeal as the Hollywood blockbuster. Frances Ha, which the Mrs. and I watched over the weekend, arguably has more charm on a much smaller scale than most of Hollywood’s major productions.
It is movie about a young woman who is struggling to find her way in New York City as a dancer without great talent or a level head. What keeps Frances going is a close friendship with another woman, Sophie, who has a decent job but is easily prone to poor decisions under the influence of romance. When Sophie, with whom Frances shares an apartment, falls for a man and moves in with him, their friendship hits the rocks and Frances needs to find a place to live in an expensive city with few prospects for making enough to pay the rent. She eventually loses her position as a minor player in a dance company, cannot afford to live in the city, and barely holds on to her dignity. To keep it she foolishly takes a weekend trip to Paris that she pays for with a credit card that some lender offers to sucker her into paying interest.
Rather than being a sad tale or a story of the triumph of the human spirit — Frances does eventually prevail in an ordinary way — Frances Ha is a simple narrative about young adults and what they go through before achieving a measure of maturity stability. It has the feel of a Whit Stillman movie, like Last Days of Disco. It also resembles the characters in Lena Dunham’s HBO series, Girls, except that Frances and Sophie are not nearly as sexually depraved or bored as Hannah and Marnie. The movie is shot in black and white, and several of the sequences resemble images from the heyday of French movies from the period of Francois Truffaut’s influence in which Frances skips or runs through the streets of New York, either in a state of glee (having recently received a rebate check from the IRS) or panic (needing to find an ATM to pay for a meal at a restaurant that does not take debit cards).
Again, it is a small film. But rather than highlighting the particular temptations that afflict young women either in the days of disco dance clubs or during the sexually charged ethos of the hookup culture, Francis Ha explores the age old theme of friends who see their relationship threatened by boyfriends or jobs. It feels as much like my own experience while living with a good friend who started to spend more time with a girlfriend than with me — can you believe it? — or my wife’s own disappointments as a twenty-something with a best friend/roommate who vacated the friendship and apartment for the charms of a man.
It is not brilliant. Nor is it profound. But in its own charming way, Frances Ha shows the joys and sorrows of life between the order provided by parents and college and the stability of an income and the ability to pay your way. If you do not care for chick flicks or movies low in special affects, Frances Ha will likely disappoint. But if ordinary life has enough affect for you, it is a movie well worth seeing (as is Noah Baumbach’s other films, The Squid and the Whale, and Greenberg).
Old Life 
This makes me think of “You Can Count on Me.” (Even after two screening, didn’t care for “Greenberg” as much I had hoped to.)
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I still haven’t seen GWTW. NO SPOILERS!
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Zrim, if you lived with cats, you’d care for Greenberg.
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Darryl, I live with all women. Maybe three times is a charm?
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Zrim, not sure what you’ve heard, but living with 3 women won’t go over in the OPC.
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There is a nice article on Baumbach and Gerwig in a recent issue of “The New Yorker”.
“Girls” got better in the 2nd season, although I watch it in a train-wrecky sort of way. Yikes!
I too was impressed with “The Squid and the Whale”. Anything with Jeff Daniels & Laura Linney has to be good. Cringe-worthy at points, though.
I have a blog post in me somewhere comparing and contrasting the boomer coming-of-age films of the 70s (“Shampoo”, “Carnal Knowledge”, “Five Easy Pieces” — all of which I’ve rewatched recently — with “Girls”, “Don Jon”, and “Spring Breakers”. I’m not sure which generation I fear for more.
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James Wolcott’s “Lucking Out” has a nice, long section on running around with Pauline Kael and other film critics in 70s NYC. Really good stuff — and funny.
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Z, I lived with three women so long that, when I finally had a boy in the house I frequently had to ask “is that behavior abnormal or is that just what boys do?” Then I got on board with his level of humor and worked on my repertoire of weaponry noises (machine guns, lasers, light sabers, etc.)
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Darryl, really, even if I am married to one and procreated the other two with her (the fourth I just walk and is the most obedient)? The OPC is weirder than I thought.
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M, I have considered renting my nephew sometimes.
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Erik, going Hollywood on you here, Jeff Daniels lives in nearby Chelsea, where he grew up, and co-owns a restaurant there. I’ve dined there.
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I had heard he still lived in Michigan along with Bob Seger and Elmore Leonard, although Leonard is now living 6 feet under.
A good Daniels movie is “Something Wild”. He’s also good in “Dumb and Dumber”, “Terms of Endearment”, and “Blood Work”. Others I’m sure I’m forgetting.
Speaking of “Blood Work”, there’s a new Harry Bosch series starting on Amazon Prime (which I don’t subscribe to). Michael Connelly is heavily involved.
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Daniels is also in “Away We Go”, which is a recent movie that I liked that also features Allison Janney, who was also funny in “The Way Way Back” and “Liberal Arts”. To complete the circle, Janney plays an academic in “Liberal Arts” and Daniels plays one in “The Squid and the Whale”. Maya Rudolph is in both “Away We Go” and “The Way Way Back”.
Warming up for the movie trivia game I play with my brother at holiday get-togethers…
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Erik, don’t forget Daniels in “The Chris Farley Show.” That was, um, uh, you know, um, so, like, really…awesome.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/4186
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Erik – about that coming-of-age-in-the-70’s film/fearful generation stuff, don’t overlook “The Big Chill.”
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Hart,
IMO, this sounds like an ironically fantastic film. Your sentiments about the film depicting life in it’s truest form (ordinary and seemingly uninteresting) are underrated and much needed. Thanks for the review/recommendation.
Additionally, I’d encourage you, if you haven’t already, to try “Short Term 12.” Another beautifully depicted yet ordinary film that did not get the attention it deserved. I
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George,
That’s from the 80s.
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Netflix streamed Frances Ha to our house last night. My wife was shocked. She didn’t know I read websites which would lead me to suggest to her good movies like that.
Point is: two thumbs up. And many thanks.
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Andrew, tell your wife her reaction makes me feel young (though I worry that really means immature).
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Ha ha, Darryl. I’ll tell her at the right time. My sources remain safely anonymous, for the present time (emoticon). Though she’s starting to wonder why I sent her about 7 movie recommendations in the last day or two..
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Nice Twitter handle, how’s format writing?
Lol
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