While We're Young

Noah Baumbach, 2015

IMDB

3/5

Noah Baumbach can easily be called a young Woody Allen. He often focuses on relationships between couples, set against the backdrop of New York. His films are very dialogue heavy, with a lot of cultural examination and introspective mania. The story mainly focuses on three couples at different phases in their lives. Marina and Fletcher, an early forties couple with a newborn (Maria Dizzia and Adam Horovitz). Cornelia and Josh, early forties couple with no children (Naomi Watts and Ben Stiller). Mid twenties hipster couple Jamie and Darby (Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried). Cornelia and Josh are feeling pressure from their peers upon seeing all of them procreating and living amidst the chaos of child-rearing. They feel refreshed when they meet Jamie and Darby, a young confident couple that seems to be so cool and sure of themselves. They are creative, optimistic, interested. Cornelia and Josh feel jaded and exhausted, and the young couple re-energizes them.

While We're Young starts off as more of a young vs old story, or at least a young AND old story. Growing older, becoming uncool. Being young, being inherently cool. Looking back, wondering where all of the years went. Being bold enough to wear that hat that all the young kids are wearing. There are some identifiable and really comedic moments early in the film when Josh is talking about all of the "cool" things that Jamie is doing, and you soon see a montage of Josh attempting to dress differently and step outside of his comfort zone. At one point Josh says of Jamie and Darby: "It's like their apartment is full of everything we once threw out, but it looks so good the way they have it."

Some of these moments probably transcend comedically to whatever perspective you are sharing with the characters. If you are married without a kid, you are probably identifying with Cornelia and Josh. If you are stuck in baby prison you are identifying with Marina and Fletcher. If you are a young hipster, you're probably not identifying with Jamie and Darby because that wouldn't be unitary and instead are probably identifying with the older generations attempting to pick up some on some of the trends of the millennial generation in terms of fashion or throwback technology. Baumbach decides to really double down on the hipster here, and double up on Adam Driver's Frances Ha hipster character Lev.

The problem with While We're Young is Baumbach's age breakdown is so energetic in the first half of the film, and the story really loses a lot of that energy in the second half of the film when the story primarily focuses on Jamie's documentary. Baumbach tries to go down another avenue to a statement on intellectual property theft and the sense of entitlement of the millennial generation and in the process sacrifices the excitement that fueled the beginning of the story. In the end While We're Young has a lot to say but doesn't feel as complete as some of Baumbach's other work such as Greenberg or The Squid and the Whale. 

Frances Ha

Noah Baumbach, 2013

Netflix

3/5

Frances Halladay (Greta Gerwig) is a 27 year old aspiring dancer who is having a difficult time moving forward. She feels comfortable in her small apartment with her best friend Sophie (Mickey Sumner), where they make childish plans for their future, but there are a forces in her life putting pressure on her to progress.

Baumbach's piece is clearly a nod to Woody Allen's Manhattan, but spares a lot of the classic elements for more of a youthful hipster vibe. It's a smart film; heavy on the dialogue but also carrying a lot of sincere weight. Frances could easily come off as annoying, and she does at times. She also comes off as frustrating, but so do a lot of the characters in the film. You get a sense that there is a number of New York's artist community largely dependent, spouting off unenlightened opinions while they sit in their $4000 brownstone apartments smoking cigarettes and drinking whiskey paid for on loans by their wealthy parents. Non-contributors. Frances is guilty of being opinionated herself, but her charm is in her honesty. You wonder if a girl like her ever "turns it off", and perhaps she doesn't. She is immature yet energetic. Reliant yet loyal. She is a nervous intellectual who has two drinks too many and can't seem to stop talking. And sometimes you don't want her to stop talking. When she delivers a brilliant "love dimension" speech, you see that while her dreams may be misguided - there's a sense of pure optimism inside. When she does manage to pull it together to some extent, it almost feels like it all comes too quickly. Was she closing one chapter or was it simply ending the movie? That's not necessarily a knock on Baumbach's story. It's still a rather entertaining experience getting there. She's a square peg of a woman in a round hole of life, effectively and humorously displayed in the final moment of the film.

Greta Gerwig certainly deserves praise for her performance in the film, you get a sense that she did put a lot out there. All in all, Baumbach does a good job of putting it all together nicely with organization and good music but the film doesn't have the lasting impact of The Squid in the Whale or the raw vulnerability of Greenberg.