Greta Gerwig is one of the most compelling and talented filmmakers in the world today. She will hopefully be making movies for a very long time.
4. Nights and Weekends [2008]
“Do you ever wonder what story you’re gonna be in somebody else’s life?”
I was very tuned out of The Movies during the mumblecore moment, and I basically have seen little to nothing of it. I have to say, based on this film, I did not miss much. Stylistically, the film does not make much of an impact.
The film does capture many of the literal beats of 20s relationships. Two people still emotionally developing stumble their way through an unsatisfying connection where neither can find a way to break it off.
The film does not capture the feeling of it at all, and the film reads cold in a way that does not contribute meaningfully to the experience. You do not get a sense of the two characters as people; the film is closer to watching animals in a zoo than anything more. Greta would later explore these themes far more effectively in her own work and her collaborations with Baumbach.
3. Barbie [2023]
After Little Women and Lady Bird both made a huge profit, it was (and is) demoralizing that Gerwig’s next project was a commercial for a bunch of toys. She was not the first to make such a decision, and she will not be the last. But it needs to be acknowledged. Gerwig may not have made art here, but she is still an artist and one of the most talented we have had in quite some time. As such, Barbie is at times beautiful, touching, gorgeous, and hilarious. It is an incredibly silly film with genuine and sincere things to say about gender in this world and how much it is a trap for all of us. If you’re going to make a movie about a toy that is being financed to sell more toys, you want it to be Barbie.
2. Little Women [2019]
After Gerwig’s devastatingly original Lady Bird, I must confess I was disappointed when I heard her next project was going to be yet another adaptation of Little Women.
I was simply just incredibly wrong to doubt her.
On just a filmmaking level, Little Women is a remarkable achievement in the art of adaptation. Gerwig takes what was normally a straightforward linear coming of age story and instead seamlessly and rather brilliantly changes it into a nonlinear story that is actually more effective and impactful.
While Lady Bird‘s linear storytelling allowed the audience to experience what it felt like to be a young woman on the precipice of adulthood, Little Women and its nonlinear structure allows the audience to feel what it is like to look back on your life and the hodgepodge of memories and feelings you get when you do that.
Gerwig manages to flawless bounce back and forth between the sisters’ supposed warm and idyllic youth with the harsh and cold reality of the world that awaited them as adults. A masterful film.
1. Lady Bird [2017]
Lady Bird came out in 2017 and was a genuine minor phenomenon. While Greta Gerwig was clearly a thing beforehand, this film marked her as a total artistic and frankly financial powerhouse.
With this film Gerwig showed that she had a powerful and unique voice. In particular, much like Sofia Coppola, she was able capture the white female experience with such a level of care, empathy, and expertise.
Through Lady Bird’s story, Gerwig shows what an absolute mindfuck it can be for a young woman to grow up. It is impossible to be young and avoid the trappings of just being absolutely self-obsessed as you navigate trying to make a place for yourself in this world. Especially in a world that demands that you never appear selfish all the while it remains a requirement of any standard definition of “success.”
And before you grow up, you have no idea of how to healthily interact with the people around you as you desperately crave approval from boys and “cool girls.” Meanwhile you begin to get into the habit of running over your Actual Friends and your parents (who try their best but are still your parents and annoying). Growing up is goddamn mess, and this film about a young woman going from the beginning of 12th grade until the beginning of the first year of college spoke to my experiences and feelings more than anything else that I have ever seen.
The Reel World 