IMDB Summary : A lonely college freshman’s life is turned upside down by her impetuous, adventurous soon-to-be stepsister.
Looking at Frances Ha (2013) and While We’re Young (2014) have made me considered Noah Baumbach as one of my favorite filmmakers, though I must admit I have some movies of him I haven’t seen. Based on those two movies, his style dipped in contemporary world blend in comedy and drama that is unique and interesting.
Mistress America was written by him and Greta Gerwig, his lead actress in Frances Ha. It is mainly about a freshmen in New York, Tracy (Lola Kirke) who doesn’t seem to find her place in her new college. She doesn’t get in to the exclusive college writer’s club she submitted her story to, while someone in her dorm did. Her new best friend/potential boyfriend, Tony, suddenly dates a new girl he doesn’t have chemistry with. Almost desperate and listening to her mother’s suggestion, Tracy calls Brooke (Greta Gerwig), her 30-year-old soon-to-be sister since their parents are dating and getting married soon.
Brooke welcomes Tracy open-hearted to her life. After all, Brooke seem to have all the exciting elements Tracy was looking for moving in New York; hip places, hip friends, hip activities and cheerful positive energy. Tracy spends most of her time with her and sometimes prefers to sleep in Brooke’s place rather than her dorm. In a big new city, it’s nice to have a sort-of sister. Brooke’s life makes Tracy wants to write a new story, for her to re-submit to the exclusive writer’s club. She writes it without Brooke knowing.
“She could see the world with painful accuracy, but she couldn’t see herself or her fate. And because I was in love with her I decided I couldn’t see it either.”
Brooke’s plan to open her own restaurant, invested by her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s investors is Brooke’s big plan for herself. Brooke claims that her former bestfriend or nemesis, Mamie-Claire stole her T-shirt idea for business and stole her rich ex-boyfriend, Dylan. All the signs that Brooke have big creative ideas but have troubles to execute them, sensed by Tracy. But she still stand by her anyway. When Brooke’s boyfriend suddenly find Brooke’s picture kissing another man, he changed Brooke’s apartment key and possibly would stop investing to her new restaurant.
The psychic told Brooke to finish unsolved business with her old nemesis, which Tracy guessed to be Mamie-Claire. They have Tony to drive them to Mamie-Claire and Dylan’s house, even though Tony’s jealous girlfriend, Nicolette watching them cautiously. Brooke try to persuade Mamie-Claire to invest on her restaurant, which Mamie-Claire seem reluctant to even hear from her. But Dylan seem to have different perspective.
Female bonding and sisterhood is a thing Baumbach focus on in Frances Ha as well, but Mistress America is more about having new sister that you’re impressed with. Perhaps all the hipster thing is what college kids dream of at their age, which what Brooke seem to have. But it is clear, at her age (30ish), she should’ve have something more stable than what she has.
Though they have sweet moments coming to clubs and plays, and music events, in between Brooke seem to talk more about herself, more like an affirmation that she’s doing well in her life and making Tracy get that. While Tracy is new to this life, she can see Brooke’s tendency to fail at her big plans. This quite delicate case for a relationship is a unique angle and can happen when you’re at the peak of your age where you should have achieve anything but you haven’t, and you want someone to see you as a success.
Though Mistress America is unique, I felt disappointed with the flatness of the climax of the story. Perhaps I was hoping to see Brooke’s even more dramatic melt down where she doesn’t, she probably did but just didn’t get magnified or specialized enough. Instead, it focused more on Tracy and Brooke’s relationship, which is another good part for a climax, but there should have been Brooke’s break down for a perfect plot dynamic.
I don’t know if I was too influenced with Frances Ha, where Gerwig showed a lot of fragility that she should have been awarded for her performance, that made me see Mistress America quite ‘flat’ or not. For what it’s worth, it was a good drama, just not the best from Baumbach for me.
