Writer-director Noah Baumbach has made his name on the backs of quirky characters and their foibles. Greenberg, The Squid and the Whale, and Frances Ha are all, at their hearts, character studies that explore the realities of the dreamers and wishers. It’s his wheelhouse, frankly, and he has become a modern master of zany realism. With his latest film, Mistress America, Baumbach has solidified his standing and crafted the best and funniest movie of his career. It’s a film that captures all of the excitement and angst of living in New York City that also explores notions of love, family, and friendship. It’s smart, adorable, and hilarious, easily making it one of the most charming movies of the summer, if not the entire year.
The film follows college freshman Tracy (Lola Kirke) as she embarks on her life away from home to make her way in the big city. Desperate to find her footing in the unforgiving city, she forges a friendship with her soon-to-be step-father’s older daughter from a previous marriage, Brooke (Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote the script with Baumbach). Tracy is soon lured into the world of the fantastic as she is drawn into the wild escapades of Brooke, a woman who lives life on her own terms and follows her own path. Despite the close bond between the two, when Tracy begins to mine her future step-sister’s life for material on which to base her writing, the limits of friendship and familial ties will be tested, potentially ruining the love between them.
Working from a hilariously witty script, Gerwig and Kirke give wonderfully heartfelt performances that play beautifully off one another. Gerwig’s, especially, breathes fantastic life into Brooke, a role that isn’t dissimilar from her role in Frances Ha. Brooke is a dreamer with non-specific goals of success and financial independence, doing her best to put together funding to open a restaurant. Along the way, she works as an interior decorator, a spin instructor, a tutor, and basically any odd-job that allows her to live her life in ways that maximize her personal freedoms.
It would have been easy to depict Brooke as sort of the apex of the manic pixie dream girl, but that would have been a disservice to both the character and the script. Gerwig portrays her as a flawed individual in a way that never quite clutches the crutch of tropes or caricature. Any mania she possesses is merely a mask for her flaws, playing up the quirks of her character as a way to both own them and deflect criticism; in a way, she’s self-defeating so that she can’t be defeated.
Gerwig has long been an actress with the capability to breakout to become a star, and her star power shines brightly in Mistress America, solidifying herself as both a leading actress and as a writer. For her part, Kirke lives up to the bar set by her co-star, matching Gerwig’s quirkiness with her own post-adolescent foibles that are enhanced by the juxtaposition between the characters. Like Brooke, Tracy is learning to forge her own path in life by attempting to find happiness where she can as opposed to where she wants it to be. In a way, she’s the perfect mentee for Brooke, who imparts what wisdom she can on her future step-sister.
Mistress America is a much needed breath of fresh air in a movie season that has almost otherwise been stagnant. It’s a movie that’s impossible not to smile at and had me laughing throughout with its dry approach. Baumbach has outdone himself this time, crafting a movie that effortlessly breezes its way into your heart and refuses to let go. It is, quite simply, absolutely delightful and not to be missed.
Mistress America is in theaters now.
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