“I’m really into social media.” This is the kind of thing that Brooke (Greta Gerwig) says with regularity, a mix of simple fact and misplaced braggadocio, in “Mistress America,” the new film directed by Noah Baumbach. Minutes later, she might deplore those around her for documenting everything in their lives. This is the paradox of the main character: constantly on the move and talking a mile a minute, Brooke has everything figured out and can’t seem to get anything done.We’re introduced to Brooke through Tracy (Lola Kirke), a freshman at Barnard studying creative writing and struggling to make friends. Brooke’s father is marrying Tracy’s mother, yet the two soon-to-be stepsiblings haven’t met. Lonely one night, Tracy decides to give her mysterious future sister a call.They meet in Times Square, allowing Brooke to make a grand entrance down the red steps of the TKTS pavilion, a fairy godmother descending from the sky, the most populated area in New York City the only appropriate stage. As the two women spend more and more time together, Tracy doesn’t so much encourage Brooke in her adventures as allow herself to be a witness. At the same time, she is attempting to submit a short story to a highly touted literary club on campus (whose members, we’re told, all carry briefcases). In Brooke and her misadventures, Tracy has found a new source of inspiration.“Mistress America” packs a lot into its compact story, but at a brisk 75 minutes, the film almost feels too short. The dialogue pings back and forth between characters so quickly it’s as if you’re watching chatty teenagers on the subway acting out a modern screwball comedy. It’s a movie that foists its unusual rhythms upon you and asks you to breathlessly follow along. There are moments when the brevity is forced, when more time could have provided a scene with greater emotional weight or simply space for the viewer to think.Then again, thinking about things is not how Brooke moves through life. She plows forward blindly despite the consequences, and never looks back. Why is she like this? The movie offers a few explanations, like the lingering effects of the death of her mother when she was young, but this feels more like a technique to ground a ridiculous character, an attempt to make her more human and give the laughs some gravitas. But her lack of direction, her striving for perfection, acceptance, and attention, is human enough. We all know people like that. Most of us are like that ourselves.Kirke’s performance in the role of Tracy is a little too flat, not necessarily a fault of the actor but more of the character. The idea is of opposites attracting — Tracy is stuck in her shell, Brooke has none at all. This is really Gerwig’s show anyway. She’s an extremely underappreciated comic actor, a stooge with a big smile who understands the rhythm of comedic language better than most, while at the same time making it seem natural.Baumbach is also in top form here after the disappointing “While We’re Young.” The film will obviously be compared to “Frances Ha” (2012), his previous collaboration with Gerwig, also a comedy about young people living in the city. But what’s missing here, and for the better, is suspicion of the mores of youth culture. “Mistress America” is a movie for adults that feels young, instead of the other way around.
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