By Alyssa Miller · December 20, 2023
Greta Gerwig quickly became the voice of a generation. Not only did she because a distinct voice in mumblecore, a subgenre of independent film that is characterized by naturalistic acting and a focus on dialogue over plot, but she quickly became box office royalty with her unique voice, humor, and embracing performances typically set around people in their twenties going through some form of an existential crisis.
Since her early days, Gerwig has worked with prominent filmmakers, including her creative and life partner Noah Baumbach, to write and star in several critically acclaimed films. Let’s look at the timeline of Gerwig’s writing, and see what makes one of the most influential modern-day filmmakers.
’20th Century Women’ (A24)
Partnered with auteur Joe Swanberg, Gerwig received her first co-writing credits on Hannah Takes the Stairs. Gerwig stars as the titular main character, and spends her time navigating relationships with the different men in her life. The film is a perfect slice of reality that feels generationally true.
Nights and Weekends see Gerwig teaming up with Swanberg again for a film that explores the complexities of a long-distance relationship. The film has a unique perspective on love and the complexities of intimacy and romantic bonds. The film often feels like a documentary, and that is on purpose. The film is written in an improvisational style, which left room for Gerwig and Swanberg to improvise on set.
This quiet improvisational film starring Rod Webber and Gerwig is a wonderfully strange movie that may not count on this list… but let’s include it for the sake of educational purposes. Shot in three days for three thousand dollars, the film is based on Webber’s DIY Dogme manifesto, which is based on the Dogma 95 movement. There is no plot, no themes, no purpose, but the film has a quiet brilliance that solely relies on the witty improvisations between Webber and Gerwig. It’s a great film to watch to study character and dialogue, and outlining the beats of a story can truly help with a film’s pacing.
Although Gerwig was not one of the main writers of The Dish & the Spoon, she did write a bit while starring in the film. The story follows Rose, who is reeling after discovering her husband’s infidelity. As Rose’s emotions fluctuate, she meets a young British man (Olly Alexander) who was ditched by the woman he came to America to see.
Like many of Gerwig’s projects before, she spent time learning about her character and getting to know them by writing many of their lines and actions.
Gerwig and Noah Baumbach joined forces again to write the screenplay for Frances Ha, a black-and-white dramedy that is a quintessential mumblecore film. Frances Halladay (Gerwig) goes through an odyssey in New York as she tries to re-discover who she is and what she wants out of life.
Writing without an outline and in different cities, Gerwig and Baumbach created a lot of material for a story that was embedded in the scenes, discovering the characters before finding the story.
Co-written by Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, who also stars in the film as Brooke, the soon-to-be step-sister helps a quiet and awkward young woman find a new version of herself by introducing her to Brooke’s world of interesting friends and chaotic adventures.
The writing itself is brilliantly crafted to capture Gerwig’s brilliantly wild verbal whimsy and energy. Unlike Gerwig’s approach to her character in Frances Ha, Gerwig wrote the role of Brooke herself since she had a limited personal connection to the character. While some might find this limiting, this type of distance gave Gerwig the space to flex her imagination to create a spectacle of a person trying to hide something below the surface. She achieved writing a great character because she allowed herself to listen to what the character needed to say to get what they wanted by the end of the scene.
Gerwig was ready to direct on her own but wanted to take the time to hone her writing skills before taking the leap. Once she felt ready, Gerwig wrote and directed Lady Bird. The DNA of France Ha is present in Lady Bird as the adolescent teen transitions from being a teen to an adult in high school. Set against the nostalgic backdrop of the early 2000s, the film felt grounded in a not-too-distant reality that was painfully reminiscent of the experience that many young women encounter.
The script is witty and dynamic, pulling in and out of fights quickly and creating direction that implies a strong understanding of her character and their journey throughout the narrative. There is a painful honesty on the page that translates with ease to the screen and helped Gerwig land several Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay.
One of the more fascinating films in Gerwig’s filmography is the adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s book Little Women. The film concentrates heavily on the story of Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) and the relationships she fights to uphold.
What makes Gerwig’s version of Little Women worthy of its Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards is the nonlinear narrative that creates a new dynamic to a story that has been adapted before. Starting at Chapter 34 of the novel, Gerwig breaks off the last 25% of the story and interlaces it in the past through parallel moments in the timeline to explore female agency as they navigate growing into womanhood in a society that restricts women from expressing themselves. The latter half of the book, which is often spent less time within normal adaptations, becomes the driving influence of Gerwig’s story, highlighting what she has always been great at, which is examining female relationships with themselves.
Read More: Screenwriting Wisdom from LITTLE WOMEN Writer/Director Greta Gerwig
While Lady Bird defined Gerwig’s place in the film community, Barbie is what made her a writer/director to take seriously in Hollywood. Gerwig and Baumbach helped Margot Robbie pull Barbie out of development hell by writing a funny and sharp script that pointed at the highs and lows of the fashion dolls and her legacy in American culture.
Greta Gerwig was drawn to the contradictions of Barbie and wanted to write a story that was joyful but also challenged the audience. “I want the movie to make people feel somewhat relieved of the tightrope,” Gerwig said in an interview with WBUR. “We ask ourselves–not just as women, men too–that we walk this impossible tightrope of being perfect.” Barbie was a huge risk that was met with pushback from Mattel and Warner Bros. Discovery, but Gerwig persevered in the story that she saw clearly in her head.
Gerwig is reported to be co-writing the screenplay for Disney’s live-action adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs alongside Erin Cressida Wilson. The film is looking to update the 1937 film for a modern audience. However, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the film based on comments from the leading actress, Rachel Zegler.
There are not many details about the project, but Gerwig’s humor and perspective on the complexity of womanhood are sure to be present in this classic story.
Read More: 6 Things Greta Gerwig Learned About Writing from Being an Actress
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