May 29th, 2013 
James Shotwell 
Film: Frances Ha
Directed by: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Greta Gerwig
There will probably never be a point in time when there isn’t room in Hollywood for another coming of age story, but if ever a day came when we needed to put the genre to rest the world will be better for having been able to welcome Frances Ha into existence. The first collaborative writing effort from filmmaker Noah Baumbach and indie darling Greta Gerwig, Frances leaps off the screen with originality and personality to spare, even when its core storyline falls short, and ultimately offers moviegoers a chance to escape that is unlike any other offering currently available at theaters.
Frances follows a twenty-seven year old New Yorker who is as lost in life now as anyone could ever think to be. She has a job, but it’s not secure, and she has a home, but it’s not really hers. Frances is adrift in the waves of your late twenties and when we first meet her she seems completely okay with wandering through life just as she is. Things quickly begin to change for Frances, however, and not long after we see her picturesque life it begins to unravel in a fashion that leads our protagonist to escape further into her own mind and away from the generally accepted societal norms we’re all expected to follow. She is not one to conform, more to celebrate her uniqueness, and even when times get rough she presents herself as if she’s barely able to contain the excitement for existence she feels within. She’s a combination of Annie Hall era Woody Allen with the over-emotive character antics of Charlie Chaplin, and she is brought to life beautifully by Greta Gerwig.
The central themes of Frances Ha seem to be finding happiness within yourself and learning to stay young while still growing old. These messages are conveyed while the viewers watches Frances endure letdown after letdown, never once letting anything get to her enough to show emotion and always bouncing back within moments. She seems impossible of derailing, but as the story carries on you realize behind the smiles and silliness lies a girl-turned-woman faced with a billion questions about the future she cannot possibly begin to answer. It’s a feeling of panic veiled ever-so-thinly by an inviting personality and swoon-worthy smile, and it’s something that will connect similarly aged people now and for years to come.
Unlike 99% of films released today, Frances Ha is delivered completely in black and white, with little-to-no acknowledgment given to the modern age of technology. People have phones, of course, but thanks to the clever writing efforts of Gerwig and Baumbach the film never allows itself to become dated based on environmental elements. Everything, from the way the city lights glimmer in black and white, to the look of Frances’ hopeful eyes, feels ageless. This isn’t a story about a time and place as much as it is a story about a feeling one’s experiences during a certain point in life. Describing that feeling in words would take hours, if not longer, but with Frances Ha it’s presented, dissected, and (to an extent) resolved in under 90 minutes.
For their first outing as a team, Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig have delivered a coming of age tale as timeless as any indie feature could hope to be. Frances is the kind of girl that simultaneously drives you crazy while somehow making you fall in love with her, and her journey through the trials and tribulations of being twenty-seven in New York City is one that offers something for everyone. Experiencing this film is a truly unique moment amidst an industry that thrives on repetition, and I urge everyone to seek it out as soon as humanly possible.
SCORE: A
Review written by: James Shotwell (Twitter)
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