so i finally watched… frances ha

Frances Ha (2013) tells the story of a 27-year-old woman in New York City as she learns how to grow comfortable and content with her identity and the world around her whilst simultaneously trying to hold on to her job and protect her relationships. Co-written and starring Greta Gerwig, this coming-of-age tale delightfully corresponds with that of Lady Bird. It is heartwarming, surprising and beautiful and entirely filmed in black and white, adding a layer of delicious nostalgia.

*there will probably be spoilers warning*

My word, I loved this film. I loved it because it was so refreshing. In particular, the wit and cheeky humour made me laugh out loud, especially when watching Frances’ interactions with men. Her jokes and amusing comments weren’t strained or unnatural and were instead alarmingly relatable. Plus, I thought that her career as a dancer (if you can call it that) was so integral to the plot and added such a mystical and enchanting quality to the film, unlike anything I had seen in any other movie.

For once, it was so brilliant to watch a film that didn’t follow the narrative of a young, beautiful woman falling head over heels in love with a young, handsome fellow and then living happily ever after. This was a film about the raw intimacy and often rank absurdity of female friendship. It followed the united hopes, dreams and fantasies, absolutely nonsensical discussions and silly habits that go hand in hand with being the best friend of another woman. It was completely concerned with the moment when the dynamic of a friendship shifts and it is so so difficult to adjust. It showed Frances fail to modify to life without her best friend Sophie and attempt to recreate the specific love she had with Sophie with others and the inevitable impossibility of such a replication. I felt that Frances’ utter confusion and refusal to accept change ultimately culminated with her solo trip to Paris, acting as a symbol of her tendency to run away from problems and jump straight into a state of make-believe without any proper thought. It is only when the trip to Paris ends with disaster and she does actually have to confront her folly that she is able to finally grow up and move on. I thought this gorgeous but totally bizarre two-day holiday in France was so beautiful and such a unique, brilliant plot device.

“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 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 what I want out of a relationship. Or just life, I guess.”

In many ways, I thought that Frances was hugely similar to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag. Not only did they both have comparable financial issues, insecurities, humour and habits of spinning lies, but I thought that the relationship between Frances and Sophie matched up with that between Fleabag and her sister. Both Clare and Sophie suffer miscarriages, have complicated relationships with their fiances/ husbands and have a superficial level of success that compares drastically with that of Fleabag/ Frances. (Did anyone else notice these similarities? Please let me know!)

Like with Fleabag, I think one of the main lessons that I took from this film was that everyone’s life is as messy and ridiculous as yours even if you don’t believe that it could be possible. This message became transparent when Sophie, lying down drunk and delirious next to Frances in the dorm room, admitted to her that she didn’t actually enjoy her time in Japan and wanted to come home. Frances’ immediate reaction was along the lines of “but your blog looked so fantastic!” and in this day and age such a reaction is incredibly relatable. Today in 2019, when everyone’s life seems unsettlingly perfect and uncannily joyful on social media accounts, we can’t help but feel like Frances. I think it was so important that the film accentuated that Sophie just wasn’t as successful as we may have first thought, ensuring Frances, and the audience too, could truly discover the reality of the complexity of life and its ups and downs.

Have you watched this film? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments!