Lady Bird (2017) ☆ ☆ ☆

Actress Greta Gerwig makes her writing and directing debut with a coming-of-age story called Lady Bird.  It is an honest, unflinching look at a young woman just reaching maturity, unsure of how to act or relate to others because, despite her feelings, she really isn’t sure who she is yet.  Gerwig’s story explores how Christine McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) yearns to bust out of Sacramento, hopefully to New York City, despite average grades and no real academic focus.  With a little help, “Lady Bird,” as Christine calls herself, takes her first stumbles into adulthood and gradually realizes that her adolescence wasn’t as bad as she had felt.

Gerwig’s film focuses on the turbulent relationship between Lady Bird and her mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf), who has become the family’s sole means of support since patriarch Larry (Tracy Letts) has lost his job.  Marion plainly doesn’t understand her daughter, and struggles to appreciate her, which puts the audience firmly on the side of wanting Lady Bird to find her wings and quickly fly away.  Gerwig’s insightful script allows the teenager to succeed and fail and learn to deal with both as she disassembles her ties to her family.  But in the end, those ties prove too binding to be removed altogether, and we get the feeling that Lady Bird’s active rebellion is coming to an end.

The film is not particularly cinematic, although a few flourishes appear from time to time.  The film’s power is in its realistic, convincing script, and the performances of Ronan and Metcalf.  Seemingly little things are perfectly toned, such as the way that Lady Bird tries to swear nonchalantly, only to be noticeably awkward.  Or how, in New York City, she attends a party and drinks herself sick, spending her evening at the hospital instead of in the arms of a boy she had just met and liked.  Lady Bird is quite a character, obnoxious and silly at times, but her struggles to find her place in the world are compelling and ultimately intriguing.  It will be interesting to see if Gerwig and Ronan revisit this character in the future; I would certainly be interested in seeing how Christine develops.

Critics love this movie, and I like it as well.  I do think more could have been done with the supporting characters, particularly Lady Bird’s father, and first boyfriend Danny O’Neill (Lucas Hedges), but the story’s focus is squarely on a young woman in flux.  Lady Bird is a good film from a first-time director who shows a great deal of promise.  If she continues to write and direct (and, hopefully, act) from her strengths, Greta Gerwig should construct for herself a very nice career in Hollywood.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  29 December 2017.

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