The idea of this film lurked on the periphery of my consciousness for quite a while before I got around to seeing it. The name of Greta Gerwig as a new force in feminist film-making around the release of Ladybird made me take a closer look. And eventually when her Little Women was first announced I felt it was time to properly check it out. A quirky black and white indi-comedy by Noah Baumbach set in New York, sure, it needed the right night and a bottle of wine.
One scene in and I already loved it. So real and artificial at the same time; the grainy low-fi feel of it made it seem down to earth and Bohemian, whilst the semi-improvised yet highly polished and mannered dialogue made it feel as planned as a Wes Anderson film. The titular character is so charming and geeky, so sweet and bumbling that you can’t help adore her and be on her side as she looks for love, friendship, and the unlikely fulfilment of her dreams. Melancholy and funny in equal parts, it resonates like the best of vintage Woody Allen, but is much more post-millenial smart and self aware.
It is the kind of film that becomes impossible to describe or recreate. A totally unique vibe that exists only at this time, in this place with these actors, like the best cult oddities such as After Hours or Rumble Fish. In isolation, the scenes don’t mean much or have a specific narrative focus, but as a whole they collate into a work of art bigger than the sum of its parts. Add a little memorable music (in this case a little David Bowie) and away we go into dreamland.
It became almost immediately the one film I would recommend to anyone looking for something outside the mainstream. Especially my daughter and female friends – as the femine existential experience is apparent in this lovely spirited film about being lost and weird, but also oddly happy simultaneously. It is just really on point of how being smart yet lonely in the early 2000s feels. Disillusionment, disappointment, wanderlust, not fitting in, having dualistic relationships of love and hate with all around you – it is all of this without ever over-stating it.
It often looks beautiful. The black and white suits it. Gerwig as an actress is stunningly vulnerable and open. A young Adam Driver also clearly demonstrates his charisma in an early role. But it is the writing and directing of Baumbach (now Gerwig’s husband) that really impresses. It has such a gentle intelligence. The same sensibility as the glorious The Squid and the Whale, the same pathos and inner sadness as Marriage Story. It may be a recipe that those demanding a more upbeat and middle of the road entertainment would reject, but for me… I only want more of this type of thing to exist.
Destined to remain an independent classic and a mainstay on many best film lists forever. I expect it to get better with age, as the period it vividly represents becomes an historic curiosity. I Would rate it higher, except for its low budget technical acheivement and full watchability for being cultural quite niche. Nevertheless, I can’t overstate how much I personally like it!
Decinemal Rating: 73
The Wasteland 