Frances Ha (2012)

Directed by: Noah Baumbach
Country: USA

Review: “Frances Ha” is the 7th film from Noah Baumbach, a filmmaker accustomed to explore the drama genre with good portions of humor, as he did with “The Squid And The Whale”, “Margot And The Wedding”, or “Greenberg”. In his new film, the writing credits were shared with the actress Greta Herwig, who was awesome in the main role. The story is about Frances, a 27 year-old woman originally from Sacramento, who left her family behind to live in New York City. But life is not being generous there. Frances is trying to get a permanent job position in a dancing school where she is apprentice, but the owner is cutting her services off; she also left her boyfriend to stay in an apartment with her best friend Sophie, but her plans were thwarted when Sophie moves to another apartment and they stop seeing each other; without money to pay the rent, she finds a new apartment to share, but even this solution is expensive, and Frances had to move to a dorm, struggling to find herself and a path that leads her to happiness. As observer, it was quite clear that she needed a pause to think in her life and settle down ideas, but will this be so clear to the one involved? Baumbach’s choice for black-and-white didn’t bring major benefits, in a story that lacks tension in the conventional way that we are used to see, but conveys an attractive lightness and sweetness to depict a friendship that feels real.