Getting better as it progresses but at the same time climaxing some time before reaching the end. This Baumbach film analyses in a quite relatable manner the instability in savings, addresses and friendships which young adults have to go through during the early stages of their emancipation.

In spite facing continuous hardships, 27-year-old Frances (Greta Gerwig) is a carefree spirit. She barely makes a living, she must change homes multiple times, she is not as much recognised as she would like at work, her friends seem to get further and further away from her, and her love life is in a moot point. Nonetheless, surely nothing will stop her from being the relaxed person and dreamer that she has always been, right?

The way the film is structured devises to perfection and in a rather relatable manner the maturation process of our main character. From initial denial, to complacency, to shame, to rebellion, to breaking point, to acceptance, the movie perfectly shows the inner psychoanalysis of Frances as she steps into adulthood. After all, this is a coming-of-age movie, but instead of looking into the usual childhood to teenage, we are looking for the evolution into the responsible and dependable adulthood.

Special mention deserves the “rebellious” phase as it gives us maybe the best and most unromantic look into Paris. No landmark sightseeing, no jazzy/bohemian atmosphere, no loves at first sight… Just a bored and jet lagged person wandering around while looking unsuccessfully for plans in a city that she does not know and does not have enough time to enjoy. Very sad, very simple and very real. Uncomfortably hilarious.

Unfortunately, the stuffing of the story is rather inconsistent and quite pretentious.

Inconsistent because with the exception of two relationships, the ones with best friend Sophie (Mickey Sumner) and Benji (Michael Zegen) which are somewhat developed although not very much, the relationships that our main character has with the rest of people seems quite void of meaning and superfluous. It is comprehensible that one of the aspects that the script wants to highlight is precisely that, the fugacity of many friendships in this age, but nevertheless this becomes confusing after a final scene featuring all these characters as relevant people in Frances’ life.

On the other hand, the pretentious element comes from the meaningless and acontextual name dropping of certain literary figures like Virginia Woolf or Marcel Proust, or the referencing to some book quotes or painting expositions. There is no problem in writing a screenplay full of these types of references or indulge in some kind of art criticism type of monologue if you truly go one hundred percent into that approach. The problem is when those elements are simply thrown into the mix as complete fillers, leaving the sensation that you simply want to fill the quota of “snobby independent film”.

When it comes to the acting, just like with the writing, we are left out with a rather neutral feeling. The acting is not bad per se, and Greta Gerwig is actually quite good in this sort of spontaneous, impetuous and drifting type of role, but there seems to be a slight lack of spark for which we would really get engaged with the different characters and the things they are going through.

The non very thought through photography does not help either. Nowadays, most usually when a film takes the black-and-white route is coupled with some carefully crafted shots and compositions or by playing with various chiaroscuros. This is not the case, with the exception of a curious little track shot (which is unfortunately cut into too many different bits), as it simply seems like a forced homage to movies such as Manhattan (1979) just for the sake of it.

What on the other hand compensates this seemingly lack of emotion or empathy, which neither acting nor photography elevates, is a very well-crafted soundtrack. The mixing of Georges Delerue pieces, which mostly gives the more melancholic touch, and the ones from popular artists like David Bowie, Hot Chocolate or Harry Nilsson provide for a rather eclectic but also very suitable sound for the mood swings of Frances.

Still, the relatability of the overall story reigns supreme above any other aspect. The fact that it is a phase of life quite underseen in cinema (maybe not as much on TV, being one of the go-to plotlines for many sitcoms) makes it something quite exceptional. However, it cannot be denied that the good underlying story feels as it is presented in a slightly too simple and superfluous manner, and with barely any emotion at all. The movie could have benefited from maybe being 30 minutes longer so we could have dug deeper into some of our protagonist internal confrontations instead of jumping to swiftly from on phase to the other up until reaching a maybe to rushed ending.