Greta Gerwig: The Art of Awkward
Greta Gerwig: The Art of Awkward
Watching a Greta Gerwig film can often feel like spending time with your best friend – there’s a relatable-ness and ease to her writing, directing and acting that makes it seem effortless. Maybe that’s because she developed her craft on each project, learning as she went. Born in Sacramento, Gerwig was a devoted theatre kid, always acting in her living room and in local amateur productions. Rejected from theatre and film school, she forged a different path studying English and joining a community of creatives (the Safdie Bros, Ti West, the Duplass Bros) who, by embracing new digital technology, were getting films made outside of the system. A few mumblecore films later, her first big break was a role in Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg in 2011.
Working steadily as an actor from then, with an impressive list of directors (Barry Levinson, Rebecca Miller, Wilt Stillman, Wes Anderson, Mike Mills), Gerwig also increasingly began to work on her own material and behind the camera. Her characters are familiar, determined but often lost, ambitious but unfettered as they take us on a journey with them. Don’t be fooled by the effortless humour and warmth Gerwig brings to screen, each hesitation is meticulously crafted, each stumble is part of the process, this is the art of being awkward and it is why we love her.
