Frances Ha. I loved it. We’re all incomplete; this is about filling in the gaps. The way it treats deep friendship is so rare in movies. There’s a great California interlude with family that underscores the theme. Home can be so comfortable, but we leave it and we have to figure out how to find that support elsewhere. Other things I liked: Gerwig has a delightfully expressive face, and great timing. I thought the script was funny and loose – it didn’t feel have the volleyball bump-set-smash rhythm to the jokes, just kept rolling along through the bad ones and the good ones. And a good bit of the humor is cinematic, based on a cut/juxtaposition, or underscored with music and a lingering camera. The black-and-white photography and marvelous bursts of music throughout bring to mind Woody Allen + French New Wave. It doesn’t feel like an homage, but it’s similarly joyful. Good flick.
Mark Larson 