2017 | Dir. Greta Gerwig | 93 Minutes
"The only thing exciting about 2002 is that it's a palindrome."
Catholic high school senior Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson and her mother Marion are at odds about Lady Bird's desire to attend college away from her hometown. Leading up to graduation, Lady Bird openly defies authority, falls for boys who are not good for her, and briefly abandons her best friend to socialize with the popular kids. Meanwhile, Lady Bird's middle class family struggles through tough financial challenges.
Greta Gerwig's directorial debut is a funny true-to-life coming-of-age story with a screenplay by Gerwig that accurately portrays the life of a high school senior without sugarcoating or over-dramatizing the very real emotions experienced by youth on the cusp of adulthood. From Lady Bird's sometimes clever, sometimes clumsy mannerisms to the questionable social decisions she makes throughout the picture, there is a captivating inevitability in the way Gerwig's narrative unfolds. The early 2000's setting is authentically captured from the haircuts to the music to the truly dumb and naive things teenagers said and believed at the time. The denouement fizzles out slightly, but I guess that's realistic, too.
Saoirse Ronan is fantastic as the titular rebellious teenager, perfectly capturing the spirit and the awkwardness without turning the role into a caricature. Laurie Metcalf matches Ronan's energy as Lady Bird's mother, playing to perfection the headstrong woman who hides her own vulnerability behind a barrier of strict, no-room-for-argument parenting. Conversely, Tracy Letts is lovable as Lady Bird's seemingly perpetually laidback father who is revealed to be struggling with depression unbeknownst to his daughter. Playing the boys Lady Bird fall for, Lucas Hedges excels in a relatively small but rich role as a closeted gay Catholic, while Timothée Chalamet is hilariously believable as the detached teen in a band who believes in wild conspiracy theories and can’t be bothered. Scene-stealer Beanie Feldstein is absolutely adorable as Lady Bird's best friend Julie, quietly playing out a heartbreaking subplot in which Julie has an inadvisable crush on her math teacher.
With nuanced natural dialogue, carried by brilliant performances from its cast, Greta Gerwig crafted an instant-classic in Lady Bird. The attention to detail paid to establish the characters and the setting is remarkable. Most importantly, the themes and ideas at the very heart of the film ring true.
FRAGMENTS
- Tracy Letts appears in two Best Picture Oscar Nominees that were released in 2017: this film and The Post
- Lucas Hedges appears in two Best Picture Oscar Nominees that were released in 2017: this film and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Timothée Chalamet appears in two Best Picture Oscar Nominees that were released in 2017: this film and Call Me By Your Name
- Kathryn Newton appears in two Best Picture Oscar Nominees that were released in 2017: this film and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- To this day, I adamantly loathe the Dave Matthews Band song "Crash Into Me" but the director Greta Gerwig utilizes the song in a surprisingly funny and emotionally touching way
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Kathryn Newton (Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania)
