Greta Gerwig’s favourite movie of all time: “Incredible, beautiful, completely unhinged”
From revolutionising the ‘mumblecore’ genre to directing some bonafide modern classics, Greta Gerwig has made quite the impact on the world of cinema. As an actor, she has dazzled audiences in films like Hannah Takes the stairs and Frances Ha. Arguably, she’s had even greater success behind the camera. Her first three solo efforts, Lady Bird, Little Women, and Barbie, have all been nominated for ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars, making her the only filmmaker thus far to have achieved this accolade.
Initially wanting to become a playwright, Gerwig was drawn to the world of acting and later directing by her love of storytelling and performance. Neither of her parents were involved in the movie business, making her a rare exception in an industry cluttered with hand-me-downs and nepo babies. she was a young woman who loved film, with one in particular standing head and shoulders above the rest.
When asked by Letterboxd to put together an official watchlist ahead of the release of Barbie, Gerwig named the timeless musical Singin’ in the Rain as her all-time favourite film. “There are so many great things in Singin’ in the Rain, but the dream ballet inside of the dream ballet is one of the most incredible, beautiful, completely unhinged things,” she said. “Don Lockwood’s [Gene Kelly’s character] pitching this idea, then we go into the dream ballet, and then even from there they go into a deeper dream ballet. When he’s dancing with Cyd Charisse with the stairs, and she’s got that long white scarf that floats up – that was sort of how we wanted to model a certain Ken ballet.”
Gerwig is referring to the monumental ‘Broadway Ballet’ sequence that takes place during the film. In this 13-minute dream sequence that is almost entirely unconnected to the rest of the movie, Kelly’s character, a fictional movie star, previews his upcoming project, The Dancing Cavalier. In his iconic yellow vest, Kelly dances his heart out, sharing screen time with Cyd Charisse’s unnamed dancer, decked out in an equally eye-catching green dress. This bold and risky creative decision is one of the many things that sets the film out from its tamer contemporaries.
There are hints of Kelly’s early work throughout this sequence. He attempted a ‘dream ballet’ in his 19s1 picture An American in Paris. Charisse would go on to appear in a number of other Kelly projects, including Brigadoon and It’s Always Fair Weather. The scene does lose some of its magic when you realise how much of a nightmare Kelly was being behind the curtain, but it’s still truly spectacular to watch.
You can see Singin’ in the Rain’s impact on Barbie clear as day in the much-celebrated ‘I’m Just Ken’ sequence. Much like Kelly, Ryan Gosling also breaks into a spontaneous song and dance number that has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the narrative. As with Singin’ in the Rain, however, the overall tone of the picture means that this bizarre inclusion doesn’t feel out of place at all.
It takes a great deal of vision for a director to pull from various different sources whilst making a film. You wouldn’t immediately think that an MGM musical would be able to offer much to a film about a talking doll, but that’s what makes Gerwig such a talent.
