Making a Case for Best Actress for Greta Gerwig

For my last post for Stevee Taylor's "Making the Case for" Blogathon, I look at one of the most delightful performances of this year that's just about stolen my heart.

Greta Gerwig's Frances reminds me a lot of Annie Hall. She's funny, sweet, flustered, confused and at the end of the day, very real. I loved how one could see her flaws and still be delighted by her and for her. Gerwig just puts so much life into this role that you feel like you are watching Frances herself and not someone who is playing a role. Maybe it's because I haven't seen any other Gerwig performances barring that in To Rome with Love that I feel so, but still, I do believe there is this naturalness and effortlessness, even in all the little quirks, that I have not seen this year. And she's just so likeable! I know that that isn't really a criteria for a good performance; in fact, it's usually the opposite, but for a role that could have come off as whiny and pompous and clingy, and there are definitely moments of that, Gerwig just manages to put so much charm into Frances. When she dances or runs or invents truths or tells people what she wants in life or just stares across a room, it is, to borrow a phrase from Miss Frances, like magic. You are drawn to her, and not because she's pretty or quirky or charismatic, but because she's also normal, and that's okay. Gerwig's Frances taught me that it's okay to be okay, and I really hope and pray that all the awards voters see that and feel that too. It's just such a wonderful performance.

My previous posts:

Making a Case for Comedy

Making a Case for Best Actor for Tye Sheridan