MovieChat Forums > Mistress America (2015) Discussion > Felt more like a Whit Stillman movie....

Felt more like a Whit Stillman movie....

posted 9 years ago by moviefool09
11 replies | jump to latest

Noah Baumbach's dialogue is somewhat mannered but not as 'rapid fire' and wooden as Whit Stillman's. This film definitely is more like Stillman's style, as Baumbach usually has more silence and pauses and nuance between his characters. This threw me a little, as I had to put on subtitles to keep up with the quick dialogue, particularly Brooke's speeches/sermons.

I enjoyed the film but it seemed a little aimless. Brooke's character is not very likeable and I found it hard to imagine that Tracy would be so enamored of someone like this, especially someone who ignores most of what she says. It didn't feel like the two of them were really interacting for most of the film....didn't feel like a real friendship or relationship. It felt like Tracy watching Brooke rant, basically.

Still, the screenplay is interesting and there are some funny moments.

"The future is tape, videotape, and NOT film?"

[–] filmfancy 9 years ago

It didn't feel like the two of them were really interacting for most of the film....didn't feel like a real friendship or relationship. It felt like Tracy watching Brooke rant, basically.

I think Tracy was initially infatuated with Brooke because Brooke seemed so sure of herself and seemed to have an exciting life. Tracy was new to the city and felt lost. Brooke was friendly and open with her, making Tracy feel less alone. Tracy needed someone to talk to--her mother was very self-involved, but as it turned out so was Brooke.

Brooke's talent for writing gradually helped her become more confident. Tracy was watching Brooke--that's what inspired her short story. It's ironic that by being self-obsessed Brooke unwittingly helped Tracy become less passive.

And all the pieces matter (The Wire)

[–] Galagatron 9 years ago

That's what I was thinking about the dialogue. Greta Gerwig's character did remind me of the one in "Damsels in Distress."

[–] moviefool09 9 years ago

I think Tracy was initially infatuated with Brooke because Brooke seemed so sure of herself and seemed to have an exciting life. Tracy was new to the city and felt lost. Brooke was friendly and open with her, making Tracy feel less alone. Tracy needed someone to talk to--her mother was very self-involved, but as it turned out so was Brooke.

I agree how Tracy could have projected a "friendship" out of that adoration, but I don't see how Brooke would have felt the same way. Brooke was self-obsessed and seemed not to have room for real friends. Maybe after her downfall, but not for 95% of the film.

That's what I was thinking about the dialogue. Greta Gerwig's character did remind me of the one in "Damsels in Distress."

Agreed....this reminded me of that also.

"The future is tape, videotape, and NOT film?"

[–] shelemm 9 years ago

Tracy found Brooke exciting and a bit of a train wreck. This made Brooke deeply engaging as a new sister and as material to launch a literary career. Both of which gave Tracy meaning.

[–] calvintoronto 9 years ago

You're quite right about this. The subject matter too was pointedly witty, as if Baumbach set out to do a Stillman picture. There were also touches of Woody Allen, especially when characters speak to another person off-screen. The Manhattan (movie) references were there too, even in the film's occasional aesthetic whimsy. Tracy and her friend sitting on the car looking at the bridge easily references the similar event in "Manhattan" (though the bridge is different).

[–] cannotlogon103 8 years ago

Stillman could crap a better script. This movie was a train wreck: you can't take your eyes off of it, the white time knowing what you are watching is... just awful. Though, in fairness, my abject loathing for the blond female lead's character -- a self involved narcissist with absolutely no self awareness -- probably colored my opinion.

[–] shelemm 8 years ago

For me, one of the main points of the film is that she is not even fooling herself. The film breaks down the cliché, though you seem to have missed all the hints.

[–] cannotlogon103 8 years ago

Her self-awareness of her lack of self-awareness, then, if that gives this nonsense value, doesn't change the fact is irredeemably shallow and entirely unlovable... Much like the movie, itself. So, I guess it's meta.

[–] shelemm 8 years ago

Setting up the audience for false expectations ('she is oblivious') actually says a lot about the people being set up, so it is not nonsense. But you seem to miss that.

[–] jamesboland 8 years ago

No one's wearing a lawyer hat.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 8 years ago

I thought the exact same thing! At certain points it veered a bit toward Damsels in Distress (also starring Gerwig), which is not a good thing. I loved early Stillman, but that hypermannered mode is not a good look.

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