'Barbie' in 'Frances Ha': Greta Gerwig

Prior to Barbie, director Greta Gerwig had already demonstrated her talent for cinema in several productions she starred in, written, or directed, such as Mistress America (2015), Little Women (2019), and Lady Bird (2017). One of these works, Frances Ha (2012), was her screenwriting debut, which she co-wrote with her boyfriend, Noah Baumbach, the film’s director. She also played the leading role, which earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the 71st Golden Globe Awards.

It is only a decade later, when Barbie is taking the world by storm and becoming the top-grossing women's film of the moment that I was suddenly harked back to Frances Ha, in which Greta has planted the seeds of Barbie. Read on and we can get a taste of her acting style, cinematic concepts and feminist ideas in this earlier release and see how she applied them to Barbie.

Let's start with a brief description of the story in case you haven't seen the movie yet. Frances (Played by Greta Gerwig), a 27-year-old dancer, and Sophie (Played by Mickey Sumner), her best friend and roommate, spend their days together, becoming much closer than a couple. One day, Sophie tells Frances that she's moving into town with another girl. Despite Sophie’s assurances that they're still best friends, Frances is frustrated. When Sophie's friend Lev (Played by Adam Driver) comes to Frances' aid, Frances begins living with Lev and Lev's roommate Bengi (Played by Michael Zegen), promising to pay the rent after a Christmas dance performance. Unfortunately, it's not long before Frances loses her job, leaving her completely at a loss of where to go.

The "Big, Dumb" Female Image

Long arms, long legs, tall, and relatively large, Greta's natural body type makes her look like a little giant in a crowd. In Frances Ha, however, she chooses not to portray the stereotypical image of this type of physique - elegant, restrained, oppressive, dignified - all that comes to mind. On the contrary, her character Frances is non-aggressive, naïve and playful. Although she is a dancer, her body movements always unintentionally reveal a hint of clumsiness and incoherence, creating a "silly big girl" image.

Frances has long held onto the belief that the world is generally a good place and that everything around her will remain as it always has and her best friend Sophie will always be with her. However, Frances is taken back when Sophie proposes that she is moving to another block. From that moment on, Frances's world begins to crack and collapse little by little, marking the beginning of her journey towards self-growth.

Doesn’t this character feel like the titular role in Barbie directed by Greta?

In the fluorescent Barbieland, Barbie lives a repetitive life. Every morning as soon as she opens her eyes, she showers, eats breakfast, brushes off Ken's advances, and at night, she attends the regular BFF party… She firmly believes that her life is extremely beautiful as it will always be. But one day, the clockwork of her everyday life is disrupted by the winds of change, leading her to the real world. She assumes that the world is just the same as Barbieland, where every girl can be herself confidently, until they poke the truth and criticize her mercilessly. In the eyes of girls in the real world, Barbie is like a "dumb big girl" who doesn't see the world through, despite her enviable figure.

On the one hand, this "big dumb" female image may reflect Greta's self-perception. On the other hand, it reveals a certain preference in Greta's stories: female characters are often portrayed as ignorant, naïve, and even unthinkingly bold. They may stumble abruptly, but quickly rebound and continue their journey of growth.

The Positive Meaning of Running

In the movie, Frances is always running. One of the most poignant instances is when Frances urgently searches an ATM to pay for the dinner with Lev using her tax refund, as her credit card won't cooperate. She finds one several blocks away, withdraws some cash and keep running, only to stumble on the way back. We don't see her on her knees because a parked car blocks the view, but she quickly gets up and continues running without hesitation. These few seconds are a snapshot of her life: she's temporarily unemployed, homeless, and recently broke up with her boyfriend, while her best friend has a new life of her own. Despite the setbacks, she keeps moving forward and embracing resilience.

Sounds quite unfortunate, doesn’t it? However, in this movie, the life’s challenges take on a bittersweet and even a little humorous tone. Frances's pain is real, but the movie doesn't dwell excessively on it, as exemplified by the obstructed view due to the car.

This humor and optimism of Frances Ha carry over to Barbie. First of all, the comedy genre itself tells it. Second, it’s evident in the plot. For example, as soon as she arrives in the real world, Barbie is faced with manhunts from Mattel, who intends to put her back in a giant box. At the risk of her life and liberty, Barbie's resistance and escape show seemingly effortless grace and exude a sense of calm assurance. She takes big steps like an athlete giving their all, leaving the senior leaders of Mattel far behind.

Women running on screen often symbolize fleeing from oppression or actively pursuing the life they want. Likewise, those in Greta's works carry metaphors, symbolizing something positive and encouraging.

"I like things that look like mistakes."

Losing her job in a dance troupe, Frances works part-time as a waitress in her alma mater. At an alumni auction where Frances is busy pouring drinks, she unexpectedly encounters a drunken Sophie, who has returned from Japan with her boyfriend and for his grandfather's funeral. Frances smells the strain in Sophie's relationship with her boyfriend, and sure enough, Sophie visits her dorm at midnight. They talk like they used to, and Sophie reveals her innermost thoughts and feelings: she hates Japan and wants to go back to New York. Amusingly, even though it's not Sophie's bed, she asks Frances to take off her socks because "socks in bed, gross!"

At dawn, however, Sophie forgets all about last night's drunken talk and leaves Frances, who wakes up with a start and rushes after her. Frances fails to catch up, which seems to prove that she can't change anyone's mind. She looks in Sophie's direction, and in the next moment, her attention turns to her feet - she's barefoot.

There’s actually a connection between this shot and one in Barbie.

For Frances, accepting the job involving paperwork and choreographing for her former dance company is a hard decision, but she has to make up her mind. The showcase of the piece she has choreographed receives praise from her leader, and her friends express their appreciation and affection for her. "That was great!" Benji, whom she has a feeling for, congratulated her and then talks about her work, drawing parallels to textiles that had influenced Henri Matisse. Though a bit confused, Frances responds politely, "I like things that look like mistakes." The line reminds me of the breaks of life in Barbie: "Cold showers, falling off my roof, and my heels are on the ground!" It's these interruptions in the norm that give Barbie new possibilities.

Through Frances’ lines, Greta's overtly shows her interest in the weird, seemingly offbeat elements of everyday life. It seems to me that this interest becomes exactly what nourishes the essence of Barbie at its best. After all, you can hardly imagine another director coming up with the weird but brilliant idea that brings Barbie come to the real world by making her heels fall flat on the ground first.

Mutual Support and Female Competition: Greta's Reflections on Female Relationships

The theme of intimacy between women and their personal growth take center stage in Frances Ha.

The close relationship between Frances and Sophie unfolds from the beginning of the film,but not without its challenges. Frances has been too clingy to Sophie. When Sophie gets closer to her boyfriend, Frances becomes overwhelmed by jealousy and afraid of being left out and abandoned. She even suggests joining them, saying "I want us to be family. I can be part of your family, don't you think?"

Sophie, on the other hand, struggles with competition, admitting "I’ve always felt so competitive with you." It may be this pressure that have led her to deliberately distance herself from Frances at times.

Although there may not be a best explanation to the problems between the two friends, their relationship appears to be improving. This mirrors the reality of relationships between women that their natural mutual supports and understandings are often intertwined with jealousy and hurts resulted from historical and institutional influences.

As Woolf noted, a woman needs a room of her own. After separating from Sophie, Frances finally has an apartment all to herself, and no longer needs to share her space with others. Whether she realizes it or not, she has achieved independence - no longer desperately dependent on a relationship or someone else. She has learnt to enjoy solitude.

One of Frances's highlight moment comes at her downtime, when she embarrasses herself at a party full of high rollers. But in the end, everyone is touched when she speaks her heart that she desires a particular kind of relationship: just one moment like when she strikes up conversations with those around her, she throws a serendipitous glance at someone who happens to meet her eyes. And the one supposed to be her dearest. Without saying anything, they understand each other and smile.

Perhaps the way Frances and Sophie smile at each other in the crowd bears some resemblance to the eye contact and heartfelt connection between Barbie and the old lady in the real world. Both situations are about mutual understanding and sympathy between women. If there’s someone who can feel for the grief, pain, elation, and joy that a woman experiences, it must be another woman.

In this light, it's easy to understand why Greta insisted on keeping this scene that Warner executives wanted to cut out. She perceives this scene as the heart of the movie. If it were removed, she would question the purpose of filming Barbie at all.

“Undateable”

The word "Undateable" is emphasized throughout the film Frances Ha. Frances and her roommate Benji use it to mock themselves, referring to their difficulty in finding romantic or sexual partners. At the start of the movie, Frances breaks up with her boyfriend, and remains single till the end of the film.

In a way, Barbie is also "Undateable," as she steadfastly rejects Ken's advances throughout the entire movie.

Greta underlines in her movies that love is not the most important or indispensable subject in a woman's life.

From Front of Stage to Behind the Scenes

Frances has made a great transition from trying to stand on stage as a dancer to working as a choreographer directing actors, mirroring Greta's movie career.

LC@J Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐