The first minutes of MISTRESS AMERICA suggest a typical outsider story but the premise is only the beginning in Noah Baumbach’s (WHILE WE’RE YOUNG) films, part of an illustration of a specific social group. Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a college freshman in a new city and is homesick. Everything is changing back at home as well: her mother is getting remarried. She contacts her soon-to-be stepsister Brooke (Gerta Gerwig) out of loneliness. The chemistry between them lays the foundation for the film. Baumbach concocts a unique indie-pop gem that’s somewhere between social-criticism and a reflection on friendship and honesty. The age difference between the two women and their different world views pinpoint key characteristics of being in your 20's: nostalgically looking back at the past (Brooke) and admiring realized dreams and searching for your own (Tracy). The state of being between awakening and retrospection is dealt with in much of the dialogue and is perpetually present in the tone of MISTRESS AMERICA. The witty script, situational comedy, and the continuous introduction of new topics and ideas make the film seem like an improvised play, especially at the end: a small, but charming chaos which encapsulate Brooke and Tracy’s lives. Though Greta Gerwig does not skip along the streets in black and white like in FRANCES HA, MISTRESS AMERICA does seem like an unofficial sequel which doesn't continue the predecessor’s story but adds to it in a different way.

Hardy Zaubitzer (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy