Thursday, May 16, 2013
FRANCES HA
Frances Ha, starring Greta Gerwig, directed by Noah Baumbach, and written by both of them together, was one of the highlights of the 50th New York Film Festival in September 2012.
It's a delightful madcap diary of Frances, a charming young woman who is not quite anything she tries to be, but who is charming all the same. It's a picture of Generation-C (Confused).
I was surprised the film did not appear in theaters anytime soon after its screening at the Festival, but it seems to be that the filmmakers were going after some big time publicity for a "little" indie film. And they got some: In the last month or so the film has received
- A great profile story -- in the New Yorker;
- A story with a breakdown of the work that went into creating Scene 42 -- in The New York Times;
- And a cover story -- in Filmmaker magazine.
NEW YORKER -- April 29, 2013
"Happiness" Profile by Ian Parker
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/04/29/130429fa_fact_parker
(Trivia note from IMDB: Noah "Briefly worked as a messenger at Manhattan's The New Yorker magazine.")
THE NEW YORK TIMES -- May 9, 2013
"One Scene, 42 Takes and 2 Hours in a Bathroom Stall" -- A "Take Journal" by Greta Gerwig
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/magazine/one-scene-42-takes-and-2-hours-in-a-bathroom-stall.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
SCENE 42 clip:
http://vimeo.com/65738337 - Scene 42: BRUNCH FRIEND
FILMMAKER MAGAZINE - Spring 2013 vol 21 #3 p 28
"Funny Girl"
VIMEO VIDEO CLIPS
http://vimeo.com/65738337 - Scene 42: BRUNCH FRIEND
http://vimeo.com/63613887 - PATCH
http://vimeo.com/63613736 - DO I LOOK OLD
http://vimeo.com/63427679 - OFFICIAL TRAILER
The film, with an unsympathetic/sympathetic main character, has an original, non-Hollywood-formula style construction, and a casual, almost improvised feel to it. But, as described in the article above from the NYT, the film actually was carefully scripted, and painstakingly shot, with a 50 day schedule (almost twice as long as most indie films) and an average of 45 takes per scene (more than twice the norm).
Despite Frances' travails and floundering, the film has an irrepressible humor and sense of joy.
On the Red Carpet for FRANCES HA
50th NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL 2013
Photo by Eric Roffman
SOME PEOPLE NOTES:
Noah Baumbach is 43, was married to Jennifer Jason Leigh, and is now reportedly in a relationship, personal as well as professional, with Greta Gerwig.
His directing history includes
2010 Greenberg
2007 Margot at the Wedding
2005 The Squid and the Whale
1995 Kicking and Screaming
Greta Gerwig is 29, a tall 5'9", and known for her original personality and style, her work with "Mumblecore" films and for films including...
2012 To Rome with Love
2011 Damsels in Distress
2011/I No Strings Attached
2010 Northern Comfort
2010 Art House
2010 Greenberg
More cast notes:
Mickey Sumner plays Sophie, Frances' close friend; she played Francesca on a series of episodes of The Borgias.
Adam Driver had roles (not that different) in both Frances Ha and Girls. He was a "Breakthrough Performer" at last year's Hamptons International Film Festival.
Name drop alert: Grace Gummer, who plays Rachel, is Meryl Streep's daughter; Mickey Sumner is the daughter of Sting and Trudie Styler; and Christine Gerwig, who plays Frances' mom is Greta's mom.
FRANCES HA - IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2347569/
I rather like the tagline on IMDB:
Frances Ha: A story that follows a New York woman (who doesn't really have an apartment), apprentices for a dance company (though she's not really a dancer), and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possible reality dwindles.
NOAH BAUMBACH - IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000876/
NOAH BAUMBACH - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Baumbach
GRETA GERWIG - IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1950086/
GRETA GERWIG - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Gerwig
MICKEY SUMNER - IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2316017/
Labels: Frances Ha, Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, New York Film Festival, Noah Baumbach, NYFF
