Frances Ha

A 27-year-old apprentice dancer in a New York ensemble, Frances’ (Greta Gerwig) days are loosely organized around rehearsals and spending time with friends, especially her roommate Sophie, whom she considers “the same person with different hair”. As she decides to move in with someone else, the fragile construction of Frances’ everyday securities develops cracks. Unsure about what the next step could be, the film is rooted in the passage between college and what is commonly considered adult life, exposing a character that is drifting, in limbo.  

Stuck in the moment, holding herself back and keeping up appearances, the questions that arise in the background of the story are: do you actively shape your life or simply let time pass? And what happens in that time to others, how do their life choices affect your own? Decide by oneself or let others decide? Not giving into existential angst, the film and its main actress manage to transpose this particular life period into an interpretation that is airy, likeably chaotic and at times melancholic. The episodic and elliptical narration supports this impression, while the black-and-white aesthetics and musical choices honor filmic references of the French New Wave, producing a look that is both contemporary and the retro – difficult to locate in time.