The enduring influence of Claudia Weill’s ‘Girlfriends’
The experience of being a woman in New York has frequently been explored in television and film, whether that be through hit shows like Sex and the City and Girls or indie movies such as Variety and Girlfriends. The vastness of the city, which is dangerous and seedy yet simultaneously full of opportunities, opens up plenty of avenues for filmmakers to explore what it’s like for women to live there.
While Sex and the City often shows the more glamorous side of the city, with its swanky bars and trendy restaurants, gyms, and businesses, its core theme of friendship is something that Claudia Weill expertly explored in Girlfriends. The low-budget movie was released in 1978, although production began three years prior. It’s a sweet and realistic film, and its legacy lives on in shows and movies about single women living in big cities, not just New York, that have emerged since.
Girls, created by Lena Dunham, often dubbed as the millennial answer to Sex and the City, actually bears more resemblance to Girlfriends. Weill was even asked to direct several episodes during its run in the 2010s, a clear indicator of the movie’s importance in relation to Dunham’s show. In an interview with the Guardian, Weill explained, “Lena said, ‘My mother’s been telling me for years I have to see this film! And I’m working on this TV series called Girls and I feel like I must have seen your film before because it’s all about that.’ And then she would give it to her cast and crew before a shoot, as reference. And that’s only flattering.”
Girlfriends follows a photographer, Melanie Mayron’s Susan Weinblatt, who is happy to be making several sales while living in an apartment with her best friend, Anne. Yet, that sense of stability that you can never quite grasp when you’re in your 20s unsurprisingly falls apart when Susan discovers that Anne wants to move out. She’s found a boyfriend to move in with; Susan is no longer the person she wants to share a flat with. Of course, that is to be expected at some point when you’re young and sharing a place to live with your friends – it’s not going to last forever.
Yet, there are moments when we are having so much fun that we really think it will. Susan is suddenly faced with a sense of loneliness. She is single, and when she does attempt to have a relationship, it doesn’t exactly go to plan. Feeling isolated from Anne, who seems to have moved onto the next stage of life while Susan is left behind, the protagonist struggles to navigate her surroundings.
The movie is a poignant and honest look at the realities we have to face when we reach an age where we often feel like we’re not ready to move forward. This is made even worse when you’re in a big city full of people, which can often feel more isolating. Mayron is great as Susan, and her character is well-loved by women all over the globe who have related to her situation, which often feels hopeless.
Who do you go to when your so-called best friend would rather hang out with their boyfriend? When your ‘adopted’ family members decide to up-sticks and start a family of their own, what’s left for you?
Not only has Girlfriends inspired media like Girls, it has also been championed by filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick and Quentin Tarantino, who believe the movie needs to be seen by more people.
