Frances Ha (2012)

Greta Gerwig on the move in "Frances Ha."

Two women share an apartment in Brooklyn and stay up late one night discussing their shared visions for the future. We learn Frances (Greta Gerwig) is going to be a famous star as a modern dancer, while best friend and roommate Sophie (Mickey Sumner) is angling to be an influential publishing mogul that prints an expensive book about her.

That’s the way they are drawn up during this quixotic early scene in "Frances Ha," but things don't turn out entirely as planned. Life has a way of throwing curveballs and more than a few are lobbed at Frances and friends in director Noah Baumbach's charming, quirky slice of life comedy.

After Sophie moves away with her boyfriend, Frances is left scrambling to find another place to live; she winds up moving in with some friends in Chinatown. One is a hip, young sculptor with rich parents; the other, Benji (Michael Zegen), is a fledgling comedy writer who, despite an obvious crush on Frances, is unable to summon the courage to ask her out.

Not that Frances is ready for romance (Benji playfully describes her as undateable, turning the term into a running gag). Facing diminishing interest from the dancing company and struggling to make money, she's forced to take a menial summer job at her former college to make ends meet. The school, Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., also happens to be Baumbach’s alma mater, making the film at least semi-autobiographical.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking element of the story is that despite Frances' genuine passion and enthusiasm for dancing, she seems to lack the skills needed to make a living at it. To love something so much yet not be very good is a cruel twist of fate, and as Frances reluctantly shifts focus, Baumbach slyly suggests how difficult it is to compromise when it also means letting go of dreams.

Baumbach co-wrote the film with Gerwig and the lead actress is lovable and luminous as the plucky, positive heroine. Moreover, "Frances Ha" was beautifully photographed in black and white by cinematographer Sam Levy; the chiaroscuro imagery is one of the most gorgeous cinematic valentines to New York since Woody Allen's "Manhattan."

Splendid visuals aside, “Frances Ha” is compelling without digging very deep. Baumbach keeps things moving at the expense of any real emotional investment in the characters. We’re left with a lot of shallow montages and stylish vignettes, such as when Frances briefly visits family in Sacramento as if on winter break.

The soundtrack is a highlight though, featuring some breezy interludes that keep the mood spirited and upbeat. There’s a stirring, anthem-like quality to David Bowie’s Modern Love as it plays while Frances jogs merrily through the city—skipping, twirling and darting artfully past pedestrians on the sidewalk—in one of the film’s best scenes.

Like the song goes, but I try…I try. One thing about Frances, she always keeps trying.