Most romantic comedies center on romantic relationships, but Noah Baumbach's delightful "Frances Ha" shifts the focus to a friendship between college best friends and roommates Frances Halladay (Golden Globe nominee Greta Gerwig) and Sophie Levee (Mickey Sumner).
Frances is a struggling apprentice at a New York City dance company, who aspires to be a regular member. She enjoys her scrappy life in Brooklyn, but her co-dependent friendship with Sophie is holding her back. Like Barry in "Punch-Drunk Love," Frances is a series of contradictions. She is ambitious, yet lazy; she's both sincere and snarky.
When Sophie announces she is moving to an expensive apartment in Tribeca that Frances can't afford, Frances is forced to face the music. She comes into her own throughout amusing detours home for Christmas in Sacramento, a botched spontaneous getaway to Paris, and a humbling return to her alma mater that reunites her with Sophie.
Shot in gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, "Frances Ha" incorporates French New Wave flourishes, particularly its clipped editing and narrative that's broken into chapters set in the various places Frances calls home. Gerwig, who co-wrote the film's script with Baumbach, is luminous as Frances. She keeps you rooting for Frances regardless of how many times she sticks her foot in her mouth.
