There is a scene in the middle of "Frances Ha" where she stumbles on a sidewalk while running to an ATM to pay for an expensive dinner a credit reimbursement could not cover. This scene is the visual summary of "Frances Ha."
Director Noah Baumbach's ("The Squid and the Whale") stars co-writer and paramour Greta Gerwig ("Greenberg") as Frances, a 26 year-old failing dance troupe apprentice without a permanent apartment. After her beloved best friend and roommate Sophie, played by Mickey Sumner ("Missed Connections"), announces she wants to move to expensive Tribeca, the black and white film gains momentum.
More than their friendship is affected by the separate housing situation. Unable to pay for her apartment without Sophie, Frances moves in with Lev, played by Adam Driver ("Girls"), and Benji, played by Michael Zegen ("Adventureland").
"Frances Ha" adds social commentary to the the main character's narrative when Frances recognizes how much of a poor twenty-something she is compared to her flat mates. While she discusses rent with Benji, he mentions hiring a housekeeper for the low price of $400 a month. Throughout "Frances Ha," Gerwig's character is confronted with living in the world of the privileged without privilege. This makes her attempts at being a functioning and contributing adult harder against the backdrop of friends who do not flinch at paying the rent.
Evident during one of the scenes where Frances is catering an event at her alma mater and runs into the estranged Sophie as she chastises her successful fiance for not donating enough money to the school.
When Frances dances through streets and stumbles on sidewalks, she displays some of her ebullient comedic whimsy, but is not the typical manic-pixie-dream-girl. She wants to have her life together, and it is just taking her longer than everyone else.
Unlike other female leads, she is not set on the right path in life thanks to a love interest, a dream job opening, a trip to Paris or even with the help of her best friend. Frances becomes who she wants to be by using her own ambition and lessons learned by her own mistakes. There is no easy ending to "Frances Ha" but relief that she makes her own life without sacrificing what she tries so hard to accomplish.
thescene@theeagleonline.com
