Movies about city or suburban youths, spending their life
being bored is a theme that’s been repeatedly dealt in recent times. The
non-adventures or small adventures of the reluctant, awkward youths have even
got a sub-genre to itself, called ‘Slacker’ cinema. With the independent film
movement across the globe and with the advent of digital video film-making, we
are seeing a lot of young film-makers venting out this world-weary phase of
youth. But, still only few films have something interesting or refreshing to
say on this frequently dealt subject. American film-maker Noah Baumbach’s
relatable portrait of Gen Y “Frances Ha” (2012) and French-Canadian
film-maker Stephane Lafleur’s “Tu dors Nicole” aka “You’re Sleeping Nicole” (2014)
are couple of gems of this sub-genre to deal with the ennui of the young.
Both the films are shot on exceedingly beautiful monochrome.
The plot trajectories of these films are pretty similar: fragmented narrative
offering snapshots of close friendship between two girls; their extended
fallout, where one matures and the other drifts away with confounding looks. Quotidian
parental love, boring jobs, a future with diminishing possibilities, and youthful
malaise are the similar narrative threads that permeates these films. Lazing
artists, pain of miscarriage, the urge to travel, the joy of getting a bankcard
are the minor events in “Frances Ha” and “Tu dors
Nicole”. In an interview director Stephane Lefleur was asked about people often
bringing up ‘Frances Ha’, while discussing his movie. He replied: “Believe it
or not I saw Frances Ha two weeks before shooting my movie. The script
was written, the idea of shooting in black and white was there and I went see
this movie when it opened in Montreal and I was just screaming…………..if you can
get me in touch with Noah let me know. I’d like to ask what he’s working on so
I won’t do it again”.
The echoes of French New Wave movement could be felt in both Baumbach and Lefleur’s respective films, although their directorial approach is distinctly
different. Noah’s glamorous, romantic view of the city, one which employs wide
tracking shots and emotionally intense close-up shots, makes us remember Truffaut,
Goddard or Woody Allen (“Manhattan”), whereas Lefleur takes a strict formalist
approach, allowing the frames to convey the ineffable emotions and keeping the expository
dialogues to bare minimum. Baucmbach & Greta Gerwig (co-writer) goes for a quirky comedy,
while Lefleur uses absurdist, deadpan humor that brings to mind the works of Jim
Jarmusch. Baumbach conveys the sense of youthful restlessness through his
well-crafted montages; Lefleur imbues a lackadaisical, quizzical mood through
his static visual compositions. Both the film-makers are intent on rendering
the movie as ‘timeless’ ( we rarely see technical gadgets or discussions about
it in the films).
Frances Halliday is a 27 year old New York girl, apprenticing
for a dance company that seem to offer no better prospects for the future.
Nicole Gagnon is a 22 year old girl, living at her suburban Quebec house, who
is unable to find a better work place than a charity clothing store. Frances is
a whip-smart girl, who had read lot of literature although she has this tendency to say
awkward things during awkward encounters. Nicole is an insomniac, who doesn’t say
much. Despite being repeatedly beaten down by life, Frances moves through like
a bundle of energy; she uses all kinds of expressions to talk about her inner
feelings. Nicole has a comfortable yet dull
life, and her monotonous face only stages subtle emotions; a little curling of lip,
the slow shifting of eyes should be keenly watched to get into Nicole’s inner
psyche. Frances has ‘undateable’ characteristics, while Nicole withholds few ‘unlikable’
elements. Nicole is more petulant and acidic than Frances. From a viewer’s
perspective, both Frances and Nicole are recognizable, relatable and of course extract
our empathy.
The real conjoining factor, as in all slacker movies, of
Frances and Nicole lies in their aimlessness. They are affected by
purposelessness that brings a low-key rage in approaching the future. Their
aimless nature is questioned on by the sudden maturation of their best friends –
Sophie in “Frances Ha” and Veronique in “Tu dors Nicole”. On paper, Frances
might seem like a happy-go-lucky girl, while Nicole may come off as the
perfect grumpy girl. But, on-screen Greta Gerwig and Julianne Cote transcend
those inherent characteristics to showcase a perfectly-defined wistfulness. May
be Frances explains her yearning (in the beautifully written and deeply felt monologue about what she
wants in relationship or life) better than Nicole, but their emotional beats
are intricately layered.
The girls’ plans are broken, flirtations and friendships go
awry, and their assumptions are repeatedly challenged. But, these are something
we naturally expect from a slacker genre, even though what makes these plot
strands to stand unique is the deft characterization of Frances and Nicole. All
these regular elements are loosely structured around the respective phenomenal
performances, so that we see it is as the natural, awakening aspects of their
extended adolescence. While Frances is still the same Frances at the end of the
film, Nicole is hinted to have witnessed a jolt that has awakened her from the
queasy slumber. May be the ‘geyser-blasting’ end might bring some fresh
perspective for Nicole to approach her remaining youth life. As for Frances,
she seems to have reached a point to brazenly encounter heartbreaks as well as
adulations. And, she has still retained the ‘Ha’ amongst the uncaring world.
Overall, I think anyone who has experienced the temporary limbo state
between adolescence and adulthood could relate with “Frances Ha” and “You’re Sleeping Nicole”.
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