Greta Gerwig stars in Mistress America and not only gets the pleasure of telling another fantastic indie New York story, but she got to work with her favorite creative cohort, Noah Baumbach. Baumbach and Gerwig previously wrote the screenplay for Frances Ha (with Gerwig also starring and Baumbach directing) and they’re back together with Mistress America, with Baumbach behind the camera once again.
This tandem is proving to be quite prolific and The Movie Mensch caught up with Gerwig for an exclusive chat with the star where she dishes the finer points of writing with a true modern auteur that truly has the world of independent cinema on a string.
Gerwig also takes us inside one of the most fantastic scenes in the entire movie (a film filled with terrific moments) which tributes the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s and works likes gangbusters in Mistress America.
Mistress America introduces the world to actress Lola Kirke, who plays Tracy, a Barnard College freshman who is more lost than found. When she meets Gerwig’s “woman about town” Brooke, she discovers a mentor/friend who helps her find her way in the treacherous Manhattan waters that seem more confusing than calming to this girl who is away from home for the first time.
Their bond drives the film, but there is so much more to it than that. Discover it when Mistress America opens in theaters August 14.