Tuesday 31 December 2013

Frances Ha

Black and white film about sweet, warm, pretty girl living in New York, where the people are not so sweet or warm (or even, mostly, so pretty). She is a better friend to her best friend than her friend is to her, (although her best friend may have a clearer understanding of the world); men seem to be indifferent to her - or unkind; she feels lonely, experiences setbacks, lacks money, is charming and, after loneliness, failure and impulsive nitwittedness, achieves some kind of mild success and new beginning.

The whole thing is touching, but afterwards you feel that there really can't be anyone who is quite so naively giving or so without fault, beyond being a bit like a labrador puppy in social relations. What does it all amount to? Not a lot - which is not to say it wasn't perfectly pleasant to watch. If it weren't for Lena Dunham, perhaps I'd be satisfied, but since she's come along it's impossible to ignore the fact that similar territory can be covered with greater wit and a sharper, more self-critical, more acidic eye.

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