--- title: "Frances Ha: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/frances-ha/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/frances-ha" critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 17 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Frances Ha (2013): what the critics said Critics' score 81 from 17 reviews: 16 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics greet Frances Ha warmly, with praise centred on Greta Gerwig’s comic timing and her ability to make a directionless, sometimes difficult heroine sympathetic. The reviews find humour and tenderness in Frances’s friendships, awkwardness and uncertain progress towards adulthood. Black-and-white photography and French New Wave influences also draw approval, while the Baumbach–Gerwig collaboration is widely credited with giving the familiar story of young New York drift a lighter, more affectionate touch. The reservations concern how much insight accompanies that charm. The Guardian finds warmth and watchability but little decisive insight or satire; Sight and Sound admires Gerwig while finding the film inconsequential. Vulture offers a sharper dissent, objecting to the sourness of the humiliation scenes while valuing the quieter friendship moments. The spread runs from enthusiastic praise to qualified appreciation, with disagreement chiefly over whether the loose storytelling feels truthful or merely slight. ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 July 2013. Greta Gerwig is irresistible as the kooky, gawky heroine in this black-and-white New Wave pastiche that follows her through aimless New York life and personal setbacks. The film is touching, vital and enchanting, a love letter to its star. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/frances-ha-film-review-8732406.html) ## Radio Times — Trevor Johnston Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). A winning serio-comic saga and triumph that blissfully combines spot-on humour and genuine insight, with a career-defining performance from Greta Gerwig as the bumbling yet endearing Frances. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-xm3enp/frances-ha/) ## The AV Club — Ben Kenigsberg Rating A-. 16 May 2013. The film is a wry and moving portrait of friendship and the dawning independence of its needy but sympathetic heroine. Gerwig gives her richest showcase yet as the exuberant Frances, with the black-and-white visuals probing class paradoxes among aimless twentysomethings. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/frances-ha-1798176821) ## Empire — David Hughes Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 13 June 2013. The film is a charming, bittersweet coming-of-age comedy anchored by Greta Gerwig's performance as an optimistic but directionless New Yorker navigating friendship and ambition. It evokes Godard more than Woody Allen and feels light and refreshing. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/frances-ha-review/) ## Little White Lies — Anton Bitel Rating 4/4/4. 26 July 2013. A charming coming-of-age comedy that presents Frances as a joyfully goofy, rounded character who blooms through her mistakes, ultimately putting them in the service of art. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/frances-ha) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 11 September 2012. Festival review. A brisk and charming little film about twentysomething coming-of-age whose affectionate portrait of wayward young folks is both touching and meaningful, with Greta Gerwig shining in the lead. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/frances-ha/5046478.article) ## Time Out — Cath Clarke Rating 4/5. 20 June 2013. This charming, drifty indie comedy is a love story between Frances and Sophie that feels totally honest about the uncertainties of one's twenties, with spiky-real one-liners and a career-defining turn from Greta Gerwig. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/frances-ha) ## Slant Magazine — John Semley Rating 3/4. 18 September 2012. Festival review. The film feels like too perfect a portrait of quarter-life malady but is sustained by its surface textures, cinephilia, and Gerwig's performance as a fun yet capricious heroine. It ultimately flatters the viewer by making us like Frances despite her flaws. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/frances-ha/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2013. The review sees the film as a complex, truthful portrait of a drifting young woman whose solitude and quiet ambition ring true amid setbacks. It singles out the inventive nods to the French New Wave and the way the story implies future growth through a simple final cut. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/frances-ha-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness) ## Sight and Sound — Sophie Mayer Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 July 2013. The film floats on Greta Gerwig's magnificent performance as the charming but directionless Frances, but lacks sting and feels inconsequential despite its retro New York portrait of modern friendship. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/frances-ha-review) ## Vulture — David Edelstein Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2013. The film is sour in tone with Baumbach's tendency toward humiliation scenes but offers beautiful and surprising moments, especially in the friendship dynamics and a few lovely vignettes. It sings when the touch is glancing rather than lingering on irritations. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2013/05/movie-review-frances-ha-david-edelstein.html) ## Financial Times — Nigel Andrews 25 July 2013. An elusively plotted black-and-white charmer about a young woman looking for herself that evokes early Godard, made enjoyable by Gerwig's performance turning inanition into something sexy and human. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/ddc86c3c-f50e-11e2-b4f8-00144feabdc0) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan 16 May 2013. The critic calls the film a small miracle that is honest, funny, and exactly made, capturing both timeless youth and a specific modern New York woman. It singles out the luminous black-and-white visuals, French New Wave energy, and the Gerwig-Baumbach collaboration as highlights. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-frances-ha-20130517-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com 16 May 2013. The review finds the film charming and watchable thanks to the Baumbach-Gerwig collaboration, but notes it sometimes drifts and ends on a contrived upbeat note. It singles out the luminous black-and-white cinematography and Gerwig's performance for praise while wishing the film tried harder overall. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/frances-ha-2013) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 25 July 2013. The film is a likable New York indie comedy with warmth and watchability from Gerwig and Baumbach's fusion of styles, but it lacks decisive insight or satire. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jul/25/frances-ha-baumbach-gerwig-review) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy 4 September 2012. Festival review. The film is an exhilarating seriocomedy with a stellar star turn by co-writer Greta Gerwig as an adorable misfit dancer in New York. It has the verve of a French New Wave film, shot in fleet, exhilarating black-and-white style with Delerue scores. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/frances-ha-367977/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 16 May 2013. The critic praises the film's playful physical comedy and Gerwig's effortless timing and grace, seeing the pratfalls and mishaps as emblematic of its charming, resilient spirit. It highlights how Baumbach captures the awkward, endearing drift of young adulthood in black-and-white New York. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/movies/frances-ha-with-greta-gerwig.html) ## The Telegraph — Tim Robey Baumbach and Gerwig's collaboration produces low-key magic in a beguiling slice-of-life portrait that makes everyday mishaps into a sad ballad with bursts of happiness. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10199717/Frances-Ha-review.html) ## The Skinny — Jamie Dunn Rating 5/5. 12 July 2013. Festival review. Gerwig transforms Baumbach's caustic style into something joyful, turning every disaster into a grace note through her screwball timing. The film is not a downer but an effervescent take on a familiar tale of 20-something dreams curdling in New York. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/festivals/edinburgh-festivals/film/frances-ha) ## Eye for Film — Anne-Katrin Titze Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2012. Festival review. The critic describes the film as a sparkling love poem to New York, movies, and friendship, with a funny, tender, and real performance from Greta Gerwig as the lead. It stands out for its fresh take on New York life and Nouvelle Vague influences while exploring themes of location, dislocation, and female relationships. [Read the review](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/frances-ha-2012-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating B+. 15 May 2013. The review praises the film as a fresh, vivacious near-reinvention of Baumbach’s comedic style that is effortlessly charming, complex, and emotionally layered, marking an exciting new period in his work through its collaboration with Gerwig. It singles out the buoyant energy, music, and endearing lead character for particular praise. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-endearing-buoyant-frances-ha-marks-a-terrific-gear-shift-for-director-noah-baumbach-20130515/) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Rating 4/5. 23 July 2013. Gerwig shines as the lynchpin of this comedy-drama, co-writing and starring as a directionless 27-year-old New Yorker chasing dreams. The film captures quirky rhythms and a bundle of joy in its freewheeling, New Wave-inspired style despite occasional contrivances. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a500170/frances-ha-review-greta-gerwig-shines-in-new-york-city-lights/) ## HeyUGuys — Stefan Pape Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 22 July 2013. The critic finds Frances Ha a well-crafted and enjoyable character study that succeeds where similar films fail by making the protagonist endearingly sympathetic rather than grating. Baumbach excels at capturing the poignant moment of leaving behind carefree youth for adult responsibilities. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/frances-ha-review/) ## Den of Geek — Andrew Blair Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 21 June 2013. Festival review. The film offers an achingly hip portrayal of mid-20s drift and becomes an endearing character study after an initially awkward start. It reflects a certain age and background with meticulous detail while allowing optimism and comedy-narrative tradition. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/frances-ha-review/) ## The Wrap — Alonso Duralde 16 May 2013. The critic praises how co-writers Gerwig and Baumbach treat their flawed title character with just the right balance of letting her make mistakes while clearly loving her and wanting her to succeed. They single out the film's genuine optimism and empathy, along with its understated final moments that proved especially satisfying. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/frances-ha-review-lovable-loser-neither-coddled-nor-punished-92121/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/frances-ha.md