Watch: Frances Ha

I definitely meant to see Frances Ha when it came out in theaters last year, but then again, I’m always a little late to the trend party. (Have you seen those pretty feathers you can get in your hair??)

Thanks to Netflix, I’m caught up now, and I’m here for my quick synopsis of why this movie won me over.

• Greta Gerwig is super awkward in such a relatable way. You know how everyone loves Jess (Zoey Deschanel) in New Girl because she’s so quirky? I did too, but the quirkiness honestly turns a little bit cliche, to the point where you’re like “WE GET IT, you’re quirky.” Greta Gerwig is awkward in a way that it’s borderline mental, but she owns it, and is actually kind of cocky about it. She has an awkward “man walk” as her ex puts it. She’s beautiful, but she wears kind of grandma clothes. She’s a dancer, but some of her moves make you cringe a little. She reminds me of myself and some of my friends…in that way that you realize you really know someone when you can access their true inner dorkiness.

• Adam Driver is in it. I couldn’t stand him when I first started watching Girls. He made my skin crawl, honestly. But there comes a time when you realize that you love him in all of his freaky glory. When he arrived on the screen, I think I audibly whispered “Yessss.” Best part? When he walks through the room in a towel and mutters, “Don’t mind me, I’m just trying to get your attention.”
• It’s kind of in black and white. I mean, it is definitely in black and white, but sometimes it just seems really undersaturated, like there is a hint of color there, maybe a slight tint. We don’t see a lot in black and white these days, but it’s interesting to see how your imagination can fill in the colors for you. I didn’t realize there was no color until I was through the first 20 minutes or so.

• The story of friendship is heartbreaking and real. Frances and Sophie are practically operating off the same brain. It’s such an accurate portrayal of best-friendship, not just in the braid-each other’s-hair and talk about boys way, but the brush-your-teeth-in-your-underwear-while….well, talking-about-boys way. When you know each other so well that you can practically speak entirely in code, but you inevitably get to a point where you are so intertwined that you suffocate a little bit and lose your shit on one another. If you’ve ever been through a friend breakup, it will strike a chord.
• So many quoteable moments that make you realize you’re not the only one who talks like this:

Frances:  ”He’s the kind of guy who says, ‘I gotta take a leak.”

         Sophie: “…and wears pre-distressed baseball hats.”

         (later) Frances: “He’s the kind of guy who buys a black leather couch and is like, ‘I love it.’” 

and, one of the big shiny moments of the movie, in a totally non-cheesy way:

 Frances: “It’s that thing when you’re with someone, and you love them and they know it, and they love you and you know it… but it’s a party… and you’re both talking to other people, and you’re laughing and shining… and you look across the room and catch each other’s eyes… but – but not because you’re possessive, or it’s precisely sexual… but because… that is your person in this life. And it’s funny and sad, but only because this life will end, and it’s this secret world that exists right there in public, unnoticed, that no one else knows about. It’s sort of like how they say that other dimensions exist all around us, but we don’t have the ability to perceive them. That’s – That’s what I want out of a relationship. Or just life, I guess.”

It’s even better that she says all of that at a dinner party and creates this intense, awkward vibe and then almost in the same breath says “Thank you for dinner, goodbye.”

If you want to go down the rabbit hole with this, I loved this interview from Refinery29 with Greta Gerwig. They love her and it’s obvious why. Also, here’s the trailer…