When looking at the modern class of filmmakers that defined the 2010s, it would be difficult to not put Greta Gerwig near the top of that list. While she’s only directed three films, she has had a storied career rising from promising screenwriter into one of the most insightful looks at contemporary youth, reflecting the quirky outsider as a poet, eager to make sense of the world around her.
Having gotten started with a group of filmmakers dubbed (controversially) “mumblecore,” she has done plenty to rise from the improvisational nature of directors like Joe Swanberg and The Duplass Brothers to something more rigorous. Her scripts have only become more layered, focusing on themes of friendship, family, economics, and women’s place in society. If anyone feels likely to make the next decade even more fruitful, it’s her. With Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019), she has proven that her eye for storytelling even works on a visual level, making these unassuming narratives into emotionally affecting masterpieces.
Not bad for a performer whose early career was mired in awkward type-casting and misdirection. Celebrating her 37th birthday on August 4, Gerwig is approaching her 40s as her best self. As one of my favorite creators, whose every project fills me with anticipation, it only feels right to look back on an incredible career. The following are my Top 5 favorite movies that feature her in any suitable role whether as actor, writer, or even director. She has proven that she can do it all, and I can only hope that she has more surprises on the road ahead.
1. Frances Ha (2013)
Actor, Writer
In hindsight, there wasn’t a moment in her career that marked as significant of a turning point as this. Collaborating again with director Noah Baumbach, this story of female friendship and mid-20s ennui perfectly captured the aimlessness of a generation. Jumping from couch to couch, Gerwig stars as “undateable” Frances Halladay as she finds herself stumbling through conversations, looking for a deeper connection to those around her. All she wants is to be with Sophie: her friend who is now married and off having the time of their life.
It is the first moment when Gerwig the screenwriter shined brightly, managing to play to her strengths as a performer. Even if by accident she’s espousing philosophical debates about friendship while staring into a void. Just when you think she makes sense, she evades criticism by saying that she might just be stoned. The truth exists just out of her grasp, and most of the story deals with trying to reach out and grab it. When those moments come, they’re beautiful, exuberant, making you recognize the beauty in this world.
No movie did more to emphasize the career ahead for Gerwig than Frances Ha, which creatively mixed the New York indie scene with a French New Wave soundtrack that perfectly captured the thematic similarities between both genres. It also helped to show the disconnect that Frances had from her environment, needing to feel connected to something genuine. By the time that David Bowie’s “Modern Love” kicks in and she dances, we’ve witnessed the birth of a generational talent, able to express herself with nothing more than a dance down a busy street. It may itself be a reference to Mauvais Sang (1986), but it’s the first time that she feels optimistic about whatever the future holds. As an audience, so do we.
2. Lady Bird (2017)
Director, Writer
Considering the decade that Gerwig had, her shift into directing felt long overdue. It was clear that she had hundreds of stories that she wanted to share, and few directors were capable of capturing them with as much sensitivity. That is why her second feature was a downright masterpiece, reflecting her final ascension into a singular artist, capable of making a coming of age story that was more than crass sex jokes and teenage rebellion. All of these are in the tapestry, but to write off this funny film on those conventions is to miss what makes it something even more exceptional.
As a personal ode to her time growing up in Sacramento, CA, the story follows a Senior high school student as she stands at a crossroads. It’s her final days in a town that she both loves and hates for being so boring. There is nothing to do in Sacramento, and yet Gerwig packs it with so much activity that contradicts it. This is a story made all the more interesting because of its use of themes of personal identity, faith, family, and most importantly economics. This is a 21st-century family that feels much more real than most teenage dramas, and it’s a testament to Gerwig’s gift of world-building.
Of course, this is a strong showcase for Saoirse Ronan in the lead role, giving her plenty of hilarious lines as she belts out her frustration. Rarely has she been allowed to be this manic and strange, doing everything to make herself stand out in ways that only over-confident teenagers can. It’s way too convincing and works perfectly with her adult counterparts in Laurie Metcalf and Tracy Letts, espousing wisdom and humanity that exists outside of her control. It’s an emotional journey that comes to embody major changes for every central character. It’s all so slight that you may miss it initially, but like Lady Bird herself, you will recognize it as soon as you stop and realize how much it came to mean to you. It was guiding you down the right path all along.
3. Jackie (2016)
Actor
This is one of the few noteworthy films of Gerwig’s 2010s work where she isn’t a central star. If anyone owns this film (deservingly), it’s Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy. Her work in this film is piercing, giving another career-best for the actress as she navigates one of the most notorious assassinations in American history. Director Pablo Larrain manages to capture a moody atmosphere, weighing down on Kennedy as she does everything to push the insular struggle out and understand how she truly feels about this catastrophic moment. She will never be the same again. Frankly, so will The United States
Gerwig’s role is minor and feels more like a symbolic piece. In a flashback, she stars as Nancy Tuckerman, guiding Kennedy through the production of A Tour of the White House (1962). It’s a story about preserving history and understanding what all of the art that lines these walls means to generations to come. Why do we want to remember these individuals? While Tuckerman more exists as a motivator, someone to keep her going when Kennedy grows too shy, it’s a powerful tool that reflects the themes of this narrative all the more luminously.
4. 20th Century Women (2016)
Actor
With exception to some voice acting work in Isle of Dogs (2018), this marked the last time that Gerwig appeared on camera as an actor. Much like Jackie, her role here is a supporting one that has to balance time with a great cast that includes Annette Benning and Elle Fanning. They’re all doing everything in their power to mentor a young boy during the late-70s. How do you raise him to be a man when it’s also a perfectly feminine period where the women’s liberation is starting to take more of a shape and Jimmy Carter embodies a more compassionate version of the presidency? How do you make him a well-rounded individual?
Gerwig stars as a woman whose art obsession informs more of the oddball decisions of his life. She takes pictures of random objects, dancing carelessly into the night, and isn’t afraid to break out into a bit of awkward conversation about menstruation during dinner. She is a livewire who becomes endearing even as her own journey goes down some personal and vulnerable paths, making her equal parts eccentric as she is tragic. As far as ways for Gerwig to go out as an actor, this was a perfect, well-rounded character perfectly captured in a drama that showed the value of mother figures in our lives. They come in all shapes and sizes, and we should all be thankful to have them, even when they’re as weird as Gerwig.
5. Little Women (2019)
Director, Writer
Up until this point, most of Gerwig’s work has taken place in the present moment. There is value in exploring how women exist in modern society and what these themes ultimately mean for film as a medium. However, there is something even bolder about applying it to this Louisa May Alcott adaptation that finds one of her strongest casts reinterpreting a centuries-old text in ways that not only make it vital but proves why this story hasn’t ever disappeared from the public’s consciousness. She adapts her style to Alcott’s text in such a way that it engages and challenges the perception that has been taken for granted, even managing to change the public perception of characters (notably Amy March).
While some could (unjustly) complain about the time jumps, what it ultimately does by reshaping the progression is to find ways to parallel events of youth with experience, showing an evolution that is more vital. In a crucial scene midway through the film, it is said that women’s stories aren’t important. The revelation is that if someone writes about them, they will become important and hold value. By the end of the movie, it’s a clear motivation not only for protagonist Jo March’s writing career but also for the audience to recognize how much that message holds true. It’s a bold take that is likely to remain one of the best adaptations for decades to come.
Honorary Mention
Mistress America (2015)
Actor, Writer
As far as Noah Baumbach-Greta Gerwig collaborations go, it’s telling that there’s often debate as to whether Mistress America is better than Frances Ha. While the latter has gained more of a positive reputation, the former is no slouch in depicting a different side of the millennial experience. Whereas Lola Kirke is a bookish student doing everything to get through school in New York, Gerwig is the sister who takes the world by storm and hopes to be seen as this brilliant ingénue. She even gets one of the more underrated introductions, walking down a series of stairs lighting up, making her seem like this hotshot. The issue is that they don’t light up all of the ways, beginning to reflect implicitly the insecurity and unfulfillment inside of her.
The story is more of a family affair (literally) as it turns from a personalized drama into a madcap comedy. The film’s standout scene includes a long take that features a dozen characters running around a house, trying to keep everything in order. It’s an audacious piece of comedy that reflects Baumbach at his best as a director and Gerwig at her most insightful. As it falls apart, the gradual reveals are a mix of hilarious and heartbreaking, giving way to a more emotional second half that shows how ambitious this narrative is going to get. Everyone may be trying to be greater than themselves, but are they? That is what’s at the heart of Mistress America, and it’s one of the most critical twists Gerwig has written in her entire career, proving that life isn’t always cheery. You just have to keep trying.
Do you like Greta Gerwig’s movies and do you think that she has a promising future as a director? What are your favorite movies of hers?
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