NOAH BAUMBACH: love, pain, squids, whales

Frances Ha

of the ones i've seen (kicking and screaming, squid and the whale, frances ha, marriage story), marriage story. been curious about mistress america and meyerowitz stories for years now, might as well go for it now that i love one of his films without qualification

K&S his worst to my ears: inoffensive, nothing to hate, he just doesn't have his schtick together. Reeks of Stillmanisms.

If you loved Frances Ha, MA is a weird, wonderful synthesis of it and Lubitsch.

i did not quite love frances ha but i'm down for that experience

Mistress America has a back half that devolves into a bad screwball comedy homage for some reason. Honestly though, he's remarkably consistent, all of his films are like a pleasant amble through the lives of alternately sympathetic and unpleasant people.

the Carax plagiarism in Frances Ha does kinda bug me but if I'm being honest that's still the best one

Squid/MS close runners up

I watched Margot at the Wedding for the first time last night, and while I didn't much like it, I don't think "they're awful people" is the core of why. Fairly awful characters aren't a dealbreaker for me; Jack Black's is possibly the worst, and I was still laughing at his final scene (on the phone, bawling incomprehensibly to JJL).

Next Leos Carax film stars NB vet Adam Driver (singing again).

I'm unreasonably excited for that.

i didn't know that Sparks is apparently credited w/ the script as well as the songs

Frances Ha my fave

The Squid and the Whale easily--one of my favourite films of the 2000s. I'd probably put De Palma second, and Frances or Margot third. Haven't seen the first three.

the De Palma doc is fantastic but it's obviously an outlier

trying to imagine Baumbach attempting to ape De Palma in a narrative feature and making my brain hurt

that doesn't sound like a good idea

Mauvais Sang aside Carax is a hack and Baumbach makes films I enjoy

I'm watching Marriage Story tonight before I vote, I enjoyed Frances Ha a lot and felt that the people who didn't like it were turned off by a very real depiction of certain kinds of New Yorkers that absolutely exist (or they were those exact New Yorkers themselves). The Squid And The Whale has one of the most elegant and memorable endings I've ever seen in a film, largely because it felt sudden and premature, and I liked the Daniels/Linney chemistry and the writing overall.

I went to see "Holy Motors" (what a gd terrible film) and the opening plate described Carax as an "art house bad boy" and I misread it correctly as "bad art houseboy"

were turned off by a very real depiction of certain kinds of New Yorkers that absolutely exist

it’s true

sometimes you don’t want to encounter in art people you’ve cut out of your life deliberately

and i otherwise don’t have a lot of issues with unlikable characters

Fgti otm on Carax, but Mauvais Sang is frustratingly great.

Oh wow I forgot that Kicking & Screaming and Mr. Jealousy were his, I sure did like them when I was 18 but would be very hesitant to re-watch.

Although even when I recognize parts of his movies as being "bad" or very silly, I still find them enjoyable (like the end of Mistress America)

The loudest voices hating on Frances Ha are the voices of the type of people the film is referencing/paying tribute to/criticizing/satirizing. Self-recognition is a bitch huh (hate-watches Llewyn Davis again)

Mistress America is flawed (Trial Scene), but still pretty underrated and really funny (the rich guy waxing nostalgic about his College Radio Days=Priceless). I find the ending narration really poignant, and the earlier monologue Gerwig has about being "being sick" watching TV or the internet before getting excited about something and "falling in love with the world" extremely identifiable.

it seems clear to me he finds most of his characters ridiculous on some level (as are we all)... or every level

My favourite joke in all his films--as subtle as can be--is when you catch a glimpse of the nurse who looks like Monica Vitti in The Squid and the Whale.

I also realize now that I can't--even though I know they're undoubtedly very different films--tell Frances Ha and Mistress America apart in memory. If you wrote a general synopsis of each, I wouldn't be able to match them correctly.

Frances Has: Black & White
Mistress America: Color, also features the daughter of the drummer from Bad Company (not that one, the other one)

I just finished and voted Marriage Story. I almost voted Kicking and Screaming because it has the memory of being the most enjoyable (probably because I was in college at the time). Mr Jealousy and While We Were Young are acceptable, Squid and Whale I liked, I can't remember anything about Margot at the Wedding and I am one of those that was completely underwhelmed by Frances Ha. The trailer was better than the movie. I am not there for cutesy nyc no stakes aimlessness.

I liked Mistress America but think maybe it could be described as cutesy NYC. I loved Frances Ha though.

i am probably 'triggered' by any type of bad, irresponsible nyc roommate situation (Frances Ha).

I think I could enjoy it because for me it was interesting but also a little distant from my life

I loved the last scene where she just folded up the paper with her name on it to fit into the mailbox display shot. That said everything about her

shot = slot

i've seen 4 Carax films, of which my fave is by far the chaotic, Scott Walker-scored Pola X.

Went for Frances Ha but I like Greenberg a lot and now I wish I'd voted for it as it looks like no one else has.

The bad screwball elements of Mistress America killed it for me. While We're Young is patchy in its attempts at plottiness but it is very OTM and frequently hilarious.

I haven't seen his first three.

Went for Frances Ha but I like Greenberg a lot and now I wish I'd voted for it as it looks like no one else has.

The bad screwball elements of Mistress America killed it for me. While We're Young is patchy in its attempts at plottiness but it is very OTM and frequently hilarious.

I haven't seen his first three.

Fuck this guy

bad tipper?

Love a bunch of these, but going with The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) There are some scenes there that felt like therapy breakthroughs as far as understanding parent/grown-kid mind games.

Not a fan of this guy at all. Liked Squid & the Whale at the time, dunno about now. but Greenberg is a masterpiece. maybe the best hipster satire I've ever seen

that would be Frances Ha.

have never really enjoyed any of this guy's films - although I've only seen half of them. marriage story the pick of the bunch for me

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I tried to watch Frances Ha, but it was so remote from any reality I have lived or cared about that I stopped before the halfway point and picked up the book I was reading instead. So far as I know that sums up the whole of my engagement with Noah Baumbach. [/bartleby]

This is hard. I've seen all but Mr Jealousy and De Palma despite feeling like I see relatively few films overall these days. I guess that means I like him. It helps that I'll watch pretty much anything involving Gerwig or a Dean Wareham cameo.

I could happily choose anything post-Squid, apart from While We're Young and Mistress America. Alba pretty OTM regarding those, though I certainly didn't regret watching them. Thought Margot was actually pretty good, though it's been a while. I'm all for unlikable characters in general. Maybe I'll toss a coin for Greenberg vs Meyerowitz or something.

Frances Ha

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Didn't expect The Squid and the Whale to do so well.

It's his best of the four I've seen, really focused and efficient storytelling. I don't always like Daniels and Eisenberg but they're perfect in this. Linney is great as always

haven't seen greenberg (which i expect to like) or marriage story (which i expect i won't)

squid and whale > margot at the wedding > mistress america >>> frances ha > kicking and screaming >>>>> meyerowitz

first 2 are straight up classics and the order could easily be reversed. kicking and screaming is sub-stillman, but on the right side of the threshold of watchability for me. for some reason i found frances ha cringey and much preferred gerwig's character in mistress america. turned meyerowitz off after 30 minutes

Daniels' performance is like no other that I can think of. He's such a pompous blowhard, but as I watch, I actually don't hate him.

Mistress America, like Stillman's Damsels in Distress, exists in its own world.

They exist in the same world as each other to the point I cannot recall which one is which

frances ha
the squid and the whale
meyerowitz stories
greenberg
while we’re young
marriage story
mistress america
kicking and screaming

still haven’t seen white noise, margot, mr jealousy, or highball

not listed here, but I liked his documentary on MY DINNER WITH ANDRE

what prompted your recent baumbach binge?

nothing really, just had some free time and realized I liked everything I’d seen by him and figured I’d run through his filmography

White Noise was bad.