While technically an episode of Nathan for You, FINDING FRANCES (2017) follows the format of a feature-length documentary. Nathan Fielder decides to help a Bill Gates impersonator (named Bill) from a previous episode find the love of his youth, Frances.
Like any Nathan Fielder project, it involves increasingly absurd, awkward, and roundabout attempts to accomplish relatively simple ends. Instead of connecting with old friends on Facebook, for example, Nathan suggests that Bill impersonate a member of Frances’ high school graduating class and hold a reunion.
There’s nothing particularly remarkable about the cinematography, and for the most part it appears unscripted, but the editing is particularly good. I found myself in awe of what parts of conversations made it imo the final cut. Anything that increases awkward tension remained in the film, it seems.
Aside from the cringe comedy, FINDING FRANCES has a lot of heart. None of the cast is particularly sympathetic, in fact Bill is portrayed as kind of an asshole, but the film deals with loneliness, regret, and a longing for human connection in a way that encourages at least some amount of empathy and identification with its subjects. It’s cringey, it’s sweet, it’s funny, it’s memorable. Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half.
Jacob N. Given 