Could Frances Ha join the race for the Oscars?
Noah Baumbach's new move Frances Ha is easily one of the best reviewed movies of the year. A 93% fresh score on review aggregating website Rotten Tomatoes sees in climb inside the year's Top 20, though most critics agree that Greta Gerwig's performance as an apprentice dancer in New York is the year's best.
Shot in black and white, this overtly cool indie-flick tale follows Frances and her best friend Sophie. When the latter moves out of their shared apartment to live with another friend, Frances is forced to figure her life out.
There's shades of Greenberg here, though whereas Ben Stiller was the focus in that movie (despite Gerwig stealing every scene), it is the 28-year-old from New York who maintains her position as one of the world's finest actresses.
"Anchored by a charming performance from Greta Gerwig, it's as light and breezy as a walk in Central Park, and just as refreshing," said Empire magazine.
Our very own Rich Cline said, "This film may look like one of those annoyingly mannered independent films, with its wacky young cast and arty-farty black and white photography, but it's actually a fresh, smart and very funny comedy."
Matthew Turner of ViewLondon continued the praise, writing of Frances Ha, "Brilliantly directed and beautifully shot, this is an utterly delightful, warm-hearted and very funny comedy with a wonderful script and a terrific central performance from Greta Gerwig."
Watch the Frances Ha trailer here:
It seems anyone with a decent camera and the ability to get to NYC has tried their hand at an indie-movie for the hipster generation, though Baumbach and Gerwig appear to have made a film that will join Woody Allen's Manhattan, Jonathan Ames' Bored to Death and, to some extent, Leah Dunham's Girls as a true love letter to the city and its inhabitants.
Frances Ha hits cinemas in the UK on Friday (July 26, 2013).
Greta Gerwig [L], Noah Baumbach and Mickey Sumner [R]
Imagine a world without dogs. It hardly bears thinking about, but in this dystopian look...
Rather than make a standard biopic about the most famous First Lady in American history,...
Jamie doesn't live a normal life, he's raised by his single mom and lives in...
Jacqueline Bouvier was always a highly independent woman, even when she was a debutant; she...
A New York comedy with vivid characters and a contrived plot, this feels rather a...
Maggie's has always been practically minded and now that she's in her thirties and has...
Loose and impressionistic, this beautifully shot film traces the career of a DJ who pioneered...
Tracy has just started college in New York, and is finding it super difficult to...
"All the world's a stage, and the men and women merely players". Or so thinks...
This film may look like one of those annoyingly mannered independent films, with its wacky...
Frances Handley is a 27-year-old aspiring modern dancer and an apprentice for a dance company,...
After Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen remains in a cheery European mode for another breezy...
Funny, fizzy and packed with astute observations, this endearing film can't help but make us...
Woody Allen takes us on a romp around yet another beautiful European city with his...