Quirky and witty Frances Halladay only knows two things: when she grows up, she’s going to be a professional dancer and she’s going to live with her best friend Sophie forever. But when it comes time to grow up, she and Sophie have a falling out and Frances seems even farther away from becoming a ‘real’ dancer than before. With her adult life at a standstill, Frances plunges headlong into an imagined and spontaneous reality in a frenzied attempt to reconcile her dreams with her present.
Directed by Noah Baumbach, the film is shot entirely in black and white, thus giving it a retro-yet-timeless feel. Frances, played by Greta Gerwig, is a vibrant and engaging personality with a lovable, fumbling attitude. While at times her awkward moments felt a little too uncomfortable, her joy and hopeful magnetism were palpable in equal measure.
Featuring a cast of up-and-coming actors, including Meryl Streep’s daughter, Grace Gummer, this independent film has a lot of heart. The aspirations and backstories of the characters depicted are all too familiar, especially for the recent university grad. Starkly yet artistically told, the story of Frances Ha is one of a young woman coming into her own, and accepting that sometimes life’s unexpected curveballs lead to different, yet exciting, dreams.
