FRANCES HA
an analysis of a movie of moments
In the winter of 2014, I saw the movie Frances Ha for the first time. Within the next year I would watch Frances Ha over thirty more times. If you know me well, you will know that it is one of my favorite movies to date and that I wrote a 7-page scene-by-scene analysis of it one evening "for fun."
Here you'll see a glimpse into that 7-page analysis. Enjoy!
OPENING MONTAGE
Montage of Frances and Sophie playing, hanging out, and gallivanting around New York together.
Frances reading, Sophie knitting
Lines that stick out: “I tried to make a frittata but it’s really more of a scramble” (kind of like her life plans)
Visual scene favorite: symmetrical window scene, sitting out their windows and talking/smoking
Analysis: all moments that depict the relationship between Sophie and Frances elicit feelings of childhood nostalgia and sister-like interactions
THE STORY OF US
The girls are so honest with each other, up front. Also, much action happens relating to phones (texts, “ahoy sexy!” and more), it’s fitting for the times, I guess.
“I love you, Sophie, even though you love your phone with email more than you love me.” What a line.
I love the story of them.
Analysis: The story of them is a dream, Frances hangs on to it longer than Sophie does.
FRANCES GETS A TAX REBATE
Lev and Frances then go get dinner together. Lev is a different type of person, more carefree and wealthy. He’s trying to be charming; I guess he is charming.
When Frances' credit card is declined she says, “I’m so embarrassed; I’m not a real person yet.”
A favorite scene: When Frances runs to great music, my heart is happy. It shows her childlike qualities of being playful and active and unable to wait, especially in moments like when she falls and picks herself up.
Lev says this after getting off the phone with his roommate, Benji, relating to Frances + how much she speaks of her best friend, Sophie: “That was Benji, my Sophie.”
WANNA SEE MY ROOM?
Frances heads back with Lev to see his and Benji's apartment.
Lev hits on Frances and then Frances “buzzes” when Lev makes a pass at her, and she sighs and shakes her head. I love it.
She doesn’t have a filter, especially in her actions. They're like stream of consciousness actions.
“You wanna see my room?” A key line that pops up multiple times from different people.
EHHH!
MY TWO HUSBANDS
“Lev, honey, you home?” –Benji’s first line
Even Benji’s first outfit is very old-timey, 50s-esque.
As soon as people leave, the three of them walk back so in sync to a tune that sounds like a 50s sitcom tune. I LOVE IT. It is so perfectly choreographed, and it fits especially with Benji’s outfit.
Frances says a line something along the lines of “It’s like we’re a sitcom: My Two Husbands.” This scene ends with a Frances dance and two smiling boys.
MODERN LOVE
This is THE running scene to David Bowie’s “Modern Love. “I love it so, so, so, so much.
Frances is as free and uninhibited as ever.
The very act of running thru streets in NYC is crazy, outlandish and I love it.
ROOMIES!
Frances moves in with Benji and Lev, and this is one of the first scenes that we see of them all living together.
I love this scene a lot too because it's reminiscent of little kids waking each other up. So sweet.
"UNDATEABLE."
Here’s another odd, flirty moment between Benji and Frances. “Undateable” is a frequently said word to describe Frances.
He offers her his headphones to listen to some music. Benji cares for Frances to make sure she’s okay since she’s drunk in this scene.
She says silly things like, “I’m too tall to marry.”
FRANCES AT HOME
Frances travels to Sacramento to visit her parents for the holidays.
A montage of Frances at home is so great. Sacramento is Greta Gerwig's (the writer's) real home, and her real parents play Frances' parents. She is perfectly comfortable as home, and it’s very sweet. This is where Frances' biographical history lines up a bit more with that of Greta Gerwig.
Frances in the bathtub. Frances riding her bike. Frances shopping with her mom. Frances at the dentist. Frances catching up with old friends. Frances commenting on the cutting boards.
THAT MOMENT
Frances is at a dinner party and tells the host that she wants a particular, special moment with someone.
“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."
It's a very sweet monologue that's met with an awkward silence.
FRANCES SOLO
Throughout the movie, we see different iterations of Frances over a spectrum of emotion.
Sometimes the moments are brief + short, and sometimes they're drawn out + dramatic.
Noah Baumbach + Greta Gerwig (the writers) allow us to see so many private moments, which I greatly appreciate about Frances Ha.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
This movie is made up of moments. The plot is not fed to you with a spoon, in a timely manner. You have to semi-piece together everything that’s happening. You find out what’s happening alongside Frances as you follow her. She is shown alone in many scenes. You can feel her sense of being alone while not necessarily being “lonely” all the time. There’s something special about seeing someone alone; nothing is filtered with someone who is alone. And with Frances, there is very little filter to begin.
The movie is disheartening when Sophie and Frances speak of their past relationships with men and other friends. It’s disheartening because we know so many people in this stage, who feel and live in similar ways, it seems. For Frances, her world crumbles away when she loses Sophie, who she’s built up as an idol of security and youth. The movie, for me, is not so much about how Frances cannot grow up, but it touches more upon what people turn to when the circles around them disappoint them or simply disappear from their lives. It says a lot about being human and being meant for relationships, relationships that last through time and distance and perhaps even death.
Greta Gerwig played Frances impeccably. In Frances' words, Greta and Frances are kind of magic. Her way of speaking is so distinct and whimsical, and I personally love it. The language makes this movie so special. Lines seem out of place sometimes, but so does Frances.
Visually, the black and white filter simplifies the moments and almost distills them into greater things. The lines, music, and characters give so much color to the movie that having the movie in color would be distracting.
I get the feeling that Noah Baumbach (director) likes hitting upon more poignant moments in different stages of life. He tells stories of people whose lives aren't working out the way anyone expected, and that's significant + valuable because that's the way it is sometimes.
This movie is 84 minutes of pure magic. I love you, Frances Ha.
x Mariel
