Collaborators-turned-couple Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have made four movies together throughout their decade-long relationship. The two first collaborated on the 2010 feature Greenberg, which co-starred Gerwig as the romantic interest of Ben Stiller’s title character. Gerwig and Baumbach began dating in 2011 and then collaborated professionally again on 2012’s Frances Ha and 2015’s Mistress America, both of which they co-wrote together, followed by the 2022 adaptation White Noise.
Baumbach was already well established when he began working with Gerwig, having made his feature directorial debut in 1995 with Kicking and Screaming. Gerwig on the other hand, got her start as one of the key actors in the Mumblecore films of the mid-2000s, eventually co-directing projects as well. In recent years, she has moved away from acting to focus on her solo directorial career, which consists of 2017’s Lady Bird, 2019’s Little Women, and 2023’s Barbie movie, the latter of which Baumbach co-wrote with Gerwig. Here are how Baumbach and Gerwig’s collaborations with each other rank.
4 White Noise (2022)
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Greta Gerwig stars with Adam Driver, another frequent collaborator with Noah Baumbach, in the 1980s-set comedic thriller White Noise. Gerwig plays Babette, the fourth wife of Driver’s Jack, and her most notable feature is the perm she is sporting. In the movie, an adaptation of Don DeLillo’s 1985 novel of the same name, the trust between Jack and Babette is affected when the latter’s daughter discovers her mother taking an unknown drug.
White Noise is Greta Gerwig’s first live-action acting role since focusing on her filmmaking, with her last credit as a performer being a voiceover role in Wes Anderson’s 2018 animated film Isle of Dogs and her last on-screen work being in the 2016 biopic Jackie. White Noise feels like the first of Gerwig’s collaborations with Noah Baumbach that came about solely because they are in a relationship with each other. While she is far from terrible as Babette, she doesn’t really stand out in the role either.
3 Mistress America (2015)
Noah Baumbach’s third collaboration with Greta Gerwig, and the second they wrote together, is described by the filmmaker as “sort of siblings” with his 2014 film While We’re Young, which started Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, and Adam Driver. In Mistress America, Gerwig takes on a more “grown up” role for her character of Brooke, who acts as a big sister, both figuratively and literally, to college freshman Tracy, played by Lola Kirke. Tracy tags along as Brooke tries to get money from rich friends in order to open up a new restaurant.
Despite Greta Gerwig being the actor with top billing for Mistress America, the movie is much more about Tracy, who uses what she observes from Brooke’s life as the inspiration for a short story. However, Gerwig still receives a big moment in the movie when Brooke finds out about the story. In the scene, the very real anger of Brooke is contrasted by the much shallower responses of the rich friends that she’s been aspiring to be more like. It is that scene that sums up the entire story of the movie.
2 Greenberg (2010)
One of the descriptions given to Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg was that it marked the point where Mumblecore went mainstream (via MovieMaker). Indeed, the movie was the mainstream debut for Greta Gerwig, who spent the first four years of her career appearing in that particular independent film subgenre. Gerwig co-stars as Florence Marr, the 20-something romantic interest of the 40-something title character, Roger Greenberg, played by actor Ben Stiller.
While Greenberg introduced mainstream audiences to Gerwig, the movie also set the stage for her collaborations with Baumbach on a personal and professional basis. At the time that he made Greenberg, Baumbach was married to actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, who filed for divorce a few months after the movie’s release. A year later, Baumbach began his relationship with Gerwig, which coincidentally mirrored the relationship between Roger and Florence in this movie, as Baumbach is only three years younger than Stiller.
1 Frances Ha (2012)
The second movie Greta Gerwig made with Noah Baumbach is not only the best of their collaborations, but Frances Ha is also one of the best movies either of them has made. Gerwig plays the titular Frances Halladay, who is an aspiring dancer living in New York City with her best friend, Sophie (Mickey Sumner). Frances Ha was also the first collaboration between Baumbach and actor Adam Driver, who has a supporting role in the movie as Lev Shapiro.
Not only does Frances Ha continue to reference Gerwig’s Mumblecore roots, but the black-and-white presentation gives the movie a French New Wave feel. Baumbach also plays homage to Leos Carax’s 1986 film Mauvais Sang, having Gerwig recreate the scene of Denis Lavant running through the street accompanied by David Bowie’s “Modern Love.” Without a doubt, Frances Ha is the pinnacle of Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig‘s collaborations with each other.
