It’s exciting to watch a filmmaker working in a seemingly new form at a very quick clip. You could argue there have been two stages to director Noah Baumbach’s career —namely, before and after 2005’s “The Squid And The Whale." Recently, Baumbach entered a looser and off-the-cuff phase after 2012’s “Frances Ha.” Shot in secret and on the fly, ‘Frances’ injected a kind of B-12 shot into the director, and 2015 finds the filmmaker releasing two films released in one year. March saw the release of the effervescent and observant “While We’re Young,” which will be followed by “Mistress America.”
“Mistress America” is another tale concerning cross-generational friendship, namely with a college freshman and a 30-something career woman. Here’s the official synopsis:
In MISTRESS AMERICA, Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a lonely college freshman in New York, having neither the exciting university experience nor the glamorous metropolitan lifestyle she envisioned. But when she is taken in by her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig) – a resident of Times Square and adventurous gal about town – she is rescued from her disappointment and seduced by Brooke’s alluringly mad schemes.
Starring Greta Gerwig and up-and-coming scene-stealer Lola Kirke (“Gone Girl”) —who we placed on our list of the Biggest Breakout Stars, Filmmakers & Newcomers Of The 2015 Sundance Film Festival— our review from Sundance called the film “riotously enjoyable” and a sharp examination of the “arrogance of youth and the fatuous nature of egocentricity.”
“Mistress America” opens in select theaters in the U.S. on August 14. Watch the first trailer below.
