Loved your comparative notes on Girlfriends and Frances Ha, Hannah! I, too, recently watched Girlfriends and fell completely in love with it. I think Melanie Mayron looks a bit like Elaine Benes?!
Regarding class differences, your piece made me think about Sophie's background, which I'd never thought about much before. I never got the sense that she came from money, but she definitely has different class aspirations than Frances: Sophie works at a prim and proper publisher, dreams of living in Tribeca, and is attracted to (or at least wants to marry) finance guys. Frances thought she had a sister-in-arms to go through the whole NYC boho life together, but for Sophie, it was always just a phase.
And Frances, for all her seeming frivolity, turns out to actually be quite dedicated to her art, even to the point where she's willing to swallow her pride and take lesser roles to continue to be a part of that world.
Thanks so much, Chris! I think Sophie seemed much more at ease with the idea of having lots of money than Frances (although maybe I'm just projecting bc she's played by Mickey Sumner, who is, tbf, fantastic) but the casual references to buying art - the ease with which she embodies that world - made me feel as though she comes from a certain kind of monied background that she's now returning to - as you say, it's a phase. But think you're completely on the money about dedication to art and how that plays its part. A lot has been written about how it's a romance film dedicated to friendship, but I think equally it's a romance film dedicated to art.
Loved your comparative notes on Girlfriends and Frances Ha, Hannah! I, too, recently watched Girlfriends and fell completely in love with it. I think Melanie Mayron looks a bit like Elaine Benes?!
Wrote a bit about Girlfriends and Nicole Holofcener's Walking and Talking on my substack: https://scurfofyesterday.substack.com/p/how-should-a-person-be
Thanks, Anandi! Your post was great, definitely need to watch Walking and Talking
I enjoyed reading this!
Regarding class differences, your piece made me think about Sophie's background, which I'd never thought about much before. I never got the sense that she came from money, but she definitely has different class aspirations than Frances: Sophie works at a prim and proper publisher, dreams of living in Tribeca, and is attracted to (or at least wants to marry) finance guys. Frances thought she had a sister-in-arms to go through the whole NYC boho life together, but for Sophie, it was always just a phase.
And Frances, for all her seeming frivolity, turns out to actually be quite dedicated to her art, even to the point where she's willing to swallow her pride and take lesser roles to continue to be a part of that world.
Thanks so much, Chris! I think Sophie seemed much more at ease with the idea of having lots of money than Frances (although maybe I'm just projecting bc she's played by Mickey Sumner, who is, tbf, fantastic) but the casual references to buying art - the ease with which she embodies that world - made me feel as though she comes from a certain kind of monied background that she's now returning to - as you say, it's a phase. But think you're completely on the money about dedication to art and how that plays its part. A lot has been written about how it's a romance film dedicated to friendship, but I think equally it's a romance film dedicated to art.