Frances Ha

Love this film!

I grew up in New York but haven’t lived there for about 12 years. When I was growing up people would always talk about Woody Allen being New York’s film maker. They’d say he understood and shared the city in a way only a New Yorker could. I never understood it. It took me leaving and pondering my life there, my friendships and the things about the city that shaped me to finally understand why so many felt the way the did about his films. Truth is this file isn’t for everyone. It isn’t self indulgent and the protagonist isn’t an idiot. She’s a self absorbed mess, just like every other person that finds themselves in this monstrous city trying to carve a live for themselves out it its endless stone and paved everything. When you’re low on resources in the big city you fear it will swallow you alive, but worse, you worry no one will notice so New York’s young seem self important. It seems they believe their stories are better or more important than everyone else’s. The reality is it’s just fear of an existence that is so insignificant we hope to leave even the smallest mark on anything we can. But back to the movie… It’s wonderful, honest and beautiful. It’s a New York film that bests Allen’s take in my view because it’s the story so many of us lived. To dream and work and loose faith and fall and realize, just as you’re ready to give up, that it was your unyielding persistence toward your dream that kept you for attaining it all the while. I loved everything about this movie. But I guess you had to be there. :-)

We enjoyed this film and like Gerwig. Well-written, engaging, and well-acted and directed. But folks, this girl is no dancer! We have lived "the dance," and this girl is not convincing, but, we suspect, that is the point: she is a klutz. We know people who think themselves dancers and even teach it (badly) as some teach poetry (badly). What do they say...those who can't do teach. It's so often true. Worth your time and then some.

Filmed in the magnificent, shimmering black and white of the French New Wave, "Frances Ha" is something of a new entry in that cinematic discourse. Frances, having lost her home, her deepest relationships, and sense of identity as a performing artist, negotiates shame, fear, and loneliness on the way to grounding in a new, deeper sense of self. The film captures some of the distinctive energy--for good and bad--that New York City has for young artists. It is exciting to see such a complex portrayal of a young woman...especially a portrayal that avoids the tropes of womanhood as seen in film right now (eg. the object of desire, the girlfriend, etc.). The screenplay is witty, and Greta Gerwig, as Frances, is luminous. Highly recommended!

Okay, I get it. Rotten tomatoes is trying to be artsy by liking a film that is mind numbingly boring. There is some character development as Frances grows up and struggles to be on her own and her and her best friend grow apart. And I actually kinda liked the fact that it was shot in black and white. The acting was decent; however, I really didn't like this movie. I forced myself to watch it hoping that it would get better. I'll save you time. It doesn't. Frances is very immature, why are we celebrating this!!!???

I was pretty depressed when I chose to watch this film on my iMac 27, and it cheered me up quite a bit. I recommend it to anyone who’s feeling depressed. I loved the relationship between the girls; Greta Gerwig’s performance was fresh and believable for being so off-the-wall. I’l be looking for more films by her. Greta has a unique and personal approach to both writing and acting, I think in the way that some of her influences such as Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Ingmar Bergman, Tennessee Williams do. Like most all great filmmakers, there’s nothing wasted—everything’s to the point. I also really liked the final dance performance attributed to her character's choreography.

This is a fairly well-crafted movie about people who don't really have much to offer. None of them is terribly sympathetic or engaging, and the result is a viewing experience that runs the gamut from annoying to boring. One can only guess that the screenwriters are as vapid and self-centered as their characters, and so feel they have touched on something authentic. Unfortunately, after seeing this film, you will just feel like you've been to a bad party. OK, I'll be honest, I didn't watch the last 15 minutes. It was that painful.

There was a time of fantastic independent films and mini-studio distributors that put out wonderful, subtly enchanting, unique characters like Frances Ha. Those mini-studios got swallowed up by the major studios and before we knew it they were financing pseudo-indies. I, for one, truly enjoyed this film. Yes, Frances was annoying at times — but she is a character who knows the artistic dream may be out of grasp but isn’t willing to admit it. Yes, she can be maddening at times, but as others grow into so-called adulthood, she continues to hold every shred of that dream until it wisps away. What she discovers is that independence and survival can be just as satisfying. This is a rare character that I couldn’t take my eyes off of. I am a fan of most of Baumbach’s films, his characters are never thin and they may not be “likable” but they are never boring.

One of the worst movies I’ve seen. Boring. No charm or humor as the description implies. I can not figure out how it got a 92% positive rating.

Best girlfriend movie ever and sparkles with the magic that is intangible in relationships regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. Classic black and white film noir effects (even though it is a comedy) are sensually pleasing and reminiscent of romantic European movies from the Bogart era. Very sweet comedy.