It was opening day of "Frances Ha," a movie about being young and lost in New York City. I saw it at Camelview, the middle-ground Harkins Theatre that appeals to wider releases than mere art films but not as wide a release as a larger theater. It's a good compromise if you want to see something that will make you think and won't knock your sensibilities with modern elements.
"Frances Ha" is by no means an inaccessible film. In fact, it should appeal to the collegiate demographic. The protagonists' face issues that college students face today: the job market (and our place in it), relationships, apartment wrangling and relations between the young and old.
You can imagine my surprise at the 4:40 p.m. showing filled with all but five people under the age of 65.
This movie, filled with youth and energy, was consumed by an audience completely unable to relate to it. The movie is extremely quotable and shows the problems faced by a 27-year-old, a slight comfort to me as I approach 20.
After the movie theater was filled by my unaccompanied laughter, I broke out into the parking lot with my friends, and we were able to speak freely about the movie.
We were appalled, yet understanding of the reasons behind the movie made for "us," but viewed predominantly by "them."
Scottsdale is skewed older, and the golf courses and expensive lifestyle appeals to the retirees and geriatrics that inhabit all corners of the country.
College students are a minority, but this movie really speaks to the young and the restless.
While young people go to the movies more often than older people, the movies that they see are far more often for entertainment than for commentary.
Something about the message of Star Trek movies just isn't as appealing to me as the message of "Frances Ha."
This state of affairs really leaves my demographic out in the cold. We can't keep just doing things that are merely entertaining and have no real value. In "Midnight in Paris," Gil relates this point by describing a movie as "wonderful but forgettable. It sounds like a film I've seen. I probably wrote it."
By giving up on anything remotely smart, people give up on a great movie that incisively critiques the very nature of our generation. There's class commentary, age commentary and, most importantly, a message on how a young woman "not done becoming a real person yet" relates to the world.
I would recommend "Frances Ha" to anyone just starting out because it tells a real story that we can learn from, relate to and understand.
Tell Peter about your 20-something dilemmas at peter.northfelt@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @peternorthfelt
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