Mistress America review: Greta Gerwig makes Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach's film come alive

“My mom said she is marrying your dad.” This line sums up the very fascinating premise of Mistress America. The writer/director, Noah Baumbach, who was nominated for the Oscars for the best original screenplay of The Squid and The Whale (2005), has injected pure youth in the film. Mistress America is bubbling with passionate, delightfully confused and blatantly honest energy, which is plastered all over the screen. The lead character, Brooke (Greta Gerwig; also the co-writer) captivates and charms you as much as she excites her new found  stepsister, Tracy (Lola Kirke). Brooke is a New York girl who lives in the very happening Times Square and talks about a billion ideas spinning in her head. Like the city, she is always on the move, at the speed of several, parallel rollercoasters. Gerwig brings an amazing alacrity to her character and easily makes her a winner in our hearts. [caption id=“attachment_2491752” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A still from Mistress America.[/caption] In this character driven story, it’s not just Brooke who fascinates. Tracy, the observer is equally compelling, almost mirroring Brooke’s young, effervescent personality. Before she meets Brooke, Tracy is a lost college fresher who suffers from a common malady: procrastination. She wants to be part of the elitist literary club but her stories are usually rejected. In the midst of her non-happening school life, Tracy discovers that her divorced mother is remarrying Brooke’s widowed father. When she meets Brooke, her life changes. Brooke also has a grand, bizarre dream—to start a restaurant that will be like a commune, and include a space for a hair salon and art, besides serving food. Brooke needs her rich and married, Greek ex boyfriend, Dylan (Michael Chernus) to back the project. All these incidents put together form a hilarious but devastating set of events, which are seen like a staged play shot in one location. Characters walk in and out of a room, their own little demons coming out and waving a sword over Brooke, who will need more than pomp and bravado. Tracy’s own writing ambitions feeds off Brooke’s vulnerability, which leads to the girls inviting more drama than they can handle. Themes of 20s and 30s life crisis, friendship, success, family, alongside a competitive, urbane and high strung environment, makes Mistress America a hilarious and compelling watch at the ongoing JioMAMI, 2015. Watch Mistress America on Nov 3 at 11:00 am at PVR Juhu (screen 1) and Nov 4, at 7:00 pm at PVR Pheonix (screen 3). Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited is a venture of Reliance Industries, which owns Network18 (of which Firstpost is a part).