Rome – One of the many movies of the summer that’s particularly intriguing fans and cinephiles (as well as us, frankly), is a film that should be a blockbuster on paper, but which probably isn’t. we speak – of course – of barbieComing July 20th the title inspired by the world’s most famous doll and the third film directed by Greta Gerwig, actress, screenwriter and one of the most influential people in contemporary cinema Time who also dedicated a cover to him a few years ago, titled: How women are redirecting Hollywood…and America, But who exactly is Greta Gerwig and why is everyone talking about her? Although linked to the release of his directorial debut lady bird semi-autobiographical work with Saoirse Ronan in 2017, five Oscar nominations – Gerwig’s career actually began much earlier, in the early 2000s, when, as a very young girl, she joined MambalcoreOr the American independent cinema movement that produced films with small budgets, (very) improvised scripts and amateur actors.
Born in Sacramento, born in 1983, Gerwig at one point decided to cross America and join the East Coast indie movement, experimenting with writing, acting and last but not least directing. The real debut behind the camera, in fact, is not from 2017 but ten years ago nights and weekends (2007) directed together with Joe Swanberg, the leading personality of indie cinema of those years. Pot? They reflect the stories of a generation, of millennials, immersed in a capitalist and consumerist society, unwittingly teetering close to the looming abyss of economic crisis. After also appearing in 2010 devil’s house by TI West (still unknown), thanks to Greta going mainstream The Extraordinary World of Greenberg (a definitely underrated film) where she’ll share scenes with Ben Stiller and — above all — be directed by Noah Baumbach, a future partner in work and life.
She would then continue her career as an actress – with films such as girls confused (2011), Friends, lovers and… (2011) e to Rome with Love (2012) by Woody Allen – But by now things have changed: only in writing does she find true inspiration as well as the key to giving life to realistic, empowered and ever-moving female characters. characters like francis Francis Ha (2012) directed by and co-written by Baumbach, or by Brooke mistress america (2015), women who represent a turning point not only in his cinema but in the storytelling of female characters at large. There is never a lack of travel, metaphor and an intellectual component to self-discovery; His characters are clumsy and sometimes frivolous, experiencing setbacks and insecurities, trying to find their way away from home – be it a physical or spiritual place – but above all away from the cliché of romantic happy endings. . Indeed, his characters’ problems revolve around love relationships, but only superficially, as their deeper dramas are intertwined with family conflicts, work aspirations, and societal expectations.
Hyperbolic? No symbol is the sentence of the protagonist in the sense Francis Ha, “I’m so sorry, I’m not a real person yet”, when it comes out in 2017 lady bird – With two Oscar nominations for screenwriting and directing just for him – it’s clear that his cinema aims to take a different direction than what’s been seen out there: lady bird It is not only a coming of age about a girl who has to find her way between love affairs and hopes for the future, but also a love story between a teenager and her mother, as the director later admitted. However, the centrality given to female characters does not limit the analysis of male characters who enjoy great depth and sensitivity. In lady bird The character played by Timothée Chalamet is the prototype of The Beautiful and the Damned, but it is so without being toxic; His behavior and his words do not make him prince charming, rather they make him human and fragile.
Also in Laurie (always Chalamet) little Women — directed by Gerwig in 2019, garnering five nominations and an Oscar — is full of unexpected nuances and subtleties that don’t just place her opposite Jo (again Saoirse Ronan), the heroine par excellence, but enriches the storytelling. so what to expect barbie, Certainly not the story of the birth of the most famous toy in the world. The birth of a myth, the first doll with the characteristics of an adult woman, a symbol of perfection, a model followed by children around the world, especially providing endless story ideas to a director like Greta Gerwig who knows how to give a new And Refresh Reading Keys to the most predictable stories. i fin little Women She was able to give depth to a character like Amy (Florence Pugh, very good), making it modern and engaging after generations of readers shunned it on the sidelines, barbie As the protagonist will be Margot Robbie, which in addition to being the right choice for the similarity with the famous Tiptoe Blonde, is also the right choice for the path she has taken.
A bit like Gerwig, Robbie has explored a parallel path to acting by founding, in 2014, a production company, Lucky Chap Entertainment – with her current husband Tom Ackerley – with whom she has created innovative projects. Often covers the leading role. among others Tonya, birds of prey, but most of all, a promising womanthat revolutionized two years ago revenge movieEmerald won a screenplay Oscar for Fennell, who wrote and directed it. As a producer, Robbie is investing in ambitious projects with a modern edge, with a marked preference for non-stereotypical female subjects. Not only that: once again barbie Supporting Greta Gerwig in writing will be her partner and father of their two children, Noah Baumbach, a combination of man and woman who is clearly the only woman with a story to tell (or not?). Will the two directors with indie souls be able to overcome prejudices towards the world of dolls and pink? Still have to wait…
- opinion | Francis Ha’s Incomplete Manifesto
- video | Watch the trailer of Barbie here: