Mistress America, the 2015 comedy-drama from director Noah Baumbach, is a sharp and hilarious portrait of an unlikely mentorship in New York City. The film follows Tracy, a lonely and somewhat aimless college freshman, whose life is irrevocably upended when she meets her future stepsister, Brooke. Brooke is a whirlwind of chaotic energy, a self-styled entrepreneur and adventurer whose grandiose plans and infectious, if delusional, optimism pull the skeptical Tracy into her orbit.

Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote the screenplay with Baumbach, delivers a tour-de-force performance as Brooke, crafting a character who is both maddening and magnetic. Lola Kirke provides the perfect grounded foil as Tracy, whose initial awe gradually gives way to a more complex, ambivalent admiration. The film's strength lies in its whip-smart, rapid-fire dialogue and its keen observation of millennial anxiety and aspiration.

Baumbach's direction is precise, allowing the characters and their sparkling conversations to drive the narrative. The film builds to a brilliantly farcical third act that lays bare the vulnerabilities beneath Brooke's confident facade. Viewers should watch Mistress America for its intelligent humor, superb performances, and its poignant, unsentimental look at the need for connection and the perils of idolizing others. It's a witty and ultimately moving exploration of finding your own path in the shadow of someone else's dazzling, if fabricated, light.