-
Village Bike
The title of VILLAGE BIKE comes from British slang for “town slut” or “loose woman,” which is delicate ground to stand – or ride – upon even for a playwright, such as Penelope Skinner, with feminist intentions. But Skinner’s dialogue is so sharply observed, her play so astutely structured, and the cast that the MCC…
-
Frances Ha
Perhaps the smartest thing about FRANCES HA, which was directed by Noah Baumbach and co-written with Greta Gerwig, is the importance it attaches to the characters in their down time. The film is basically about the young creatives – conventionally known as “hipsters” – who live in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg. The title character…
-
To Rome with Love
Woody Allen’s cinematic tour of Europe, having taken us to London, Barcelona and Paris, now sets down in Rome. There’s an obvious Fellini tribute in how the movie is framed, à la Roma, with a Roman traffic cop (a thankless job if ever there was one) delivering opening and closing paeans to the city. But the…
-
Damsels in Distress • Lola Versus
I have enjoyed Whit Stillman’s deadpan social satire over the years, and I think Greta Gerwig is just great, and I liked Analeigh Tipton a lot in this, and I love the insular charm of college campuses, and I wanted to like DAMSELS IN DISTRESS for all of those reasons, and, well, I didn’t quite,…