READY TO FLY振翅高飛
《不得鳥小姐》和那令人心醉神迷的青春歲月。撰文： Vanessa Ko Lady Bird and the enchantment of being 17. By VANESSA KO
COMING-OF-AGE films usually entail a pivotal event. In
Juno, it was a teen pregnancy.
Stand by Me followed the search for a dead body. The Graduate had Mrs Robinson.
Lady Bird forgoes that big event, demonstrating that adolescence, in all its everyday triumphs and tragedies, can stand alone as a story.
Based on director Greta Gerwig’s own experiences, the film distils the final year of high school for Christine (Saoirse Ronan), who insists on being called Lady Bird, into all the small, universally recognisable moments of teenage girlhood: endless conversations with her best friend, little lies to help her get in with the cool crowd, that certain satisfaction from writing her crush’s name in tiny letters above her bed. Nothing in Christine’s life is earthshattering except everything.
Christine is determined to leave her staid Californian hometown of Sacramento after high school, a notion that her mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf), refuses to entertain. As Christine aims to define her identity – as someone more popular, more daring and not named Christine – Marion battles to keep her grounded, even wounded, with cutting put-downs.
The mother-daughter dynamic is the heart of the story, in which a moment of affectionate bonding can devolve into a bitter fight in the span of a short car journey. Ronan’s natural performance earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. But it’s outdone by Metcalf’s ‘warm but also kind of scary’ persona (which earned a Best Supporting Actress nod), as one character describes Marion. With every disapproving frown and tender sweep of Christine’s hair, Metcalf embodies the mother so afraid to let go.
Gerwig previously wrote and acted in the acclaimed Frances Ha, a loosely autobiographical comedy about a 27-year- old struggling in her New York life. Lady Bird is a sort of prequel, for which Gerwig treats her characters with greater kindness. There are no villains, only people who help Christine become who she’s meant to be.
And the backdrop to it all is Sacramento. The city suffers Christine’s derision but is showcased lovingly by Gerwig, both in its tree-filled neighbourhoods and the warmth of its people. Christine doesn’t notice the beauty around her. But by the end of the film, she’s able to see the life she’s shed – boring town and all – in a softer light. 關於成長的故事，往往圍繞著一件關鍵大事來發展。《Juno 少女孕記》講述少女意外懷孕的故事，《伴我同行》是幾個少年尋找屍體的故事；至於《畢業生》則要面對羅賓遜太太的誘惑。不過《不得鳥小姐》捨棄了戲劇化的手法，藉著青少年日常生活裡的悲愁喜樂來建構一個動人的故事。
本片從導演 Greta Gerwig的個人經驗出發，講述少女
Christine（Saoirse Ronan飾演）在高中最後一年的生活。她自命不凡，為自己取名「鳥小姐」，可是她的生活與一般少女無異：跟死黨沒完沒了的聊天；講些無傷大雅的小謊，以便成為校內型人一份子；在床頭以蠅頭小字寫上意中人的名字，就已獲得某種滿足感，諸如此類。簡言之，
Christine 的生活沒什麼驚天動地的大事，相當平凡。
Christine決意高中畢業後，離開沉悶無趣的家鄉加州沙加緬度，她的母親 Marion（Laurie Metcalf 飾演）則極力反對此事。Christine 想令自己變得更受歡迎，更勇於冒險嘗新，而且不要被叫做 Christine；Marion則千方百計要將這個女兒留在身邊，甚至不惜出言奚落，令她傷心。
母女關係是本片的核心。在短短一程車之內，可以由言笑晏晏母女情深，一變而為面紅耳熱舌劍唇槍。Ronan飾演倔強的
Christine 為她贏得奧斯卡最佳女演員提名，但與Metcalf相比，仍略嫌遜色。片中一個角色形容Metcalf 飾演的母親 Marion「親
切但同時有點令人害怕」，每當她對Christine的言行大皺眉頭，或是溫柔地輕撥女兒的頭髮時，就將一個不願讓女兒離家獨立的母親演得活靈活現。
導演 Gerwig曾自編自演帶有自傳色彩的電影《凡事哈》。這部備受好評的喜劇講述一個27歲的女子雖在紐約過著焦頭爛額的生活，仍能瀟灑地凡事一笑置之。《不得鳥小姐》有點像《凡事哈》的前傳，但Gerwig以更寬容的態度來看待片中人物。《不得鳥小姐》裡沒有壞人，只有成全 Christine，讓她充分展現自我的人。
至於影片的背景沙加緬度，雖然受盡 Christine 的鄙棄和嘲笑， Gerwig 卻展現了當地滿街綠樹的住宅區及街坊鄰里的溫情。Christine 對眼前的美好事物視而不見，不過到了電影的結尾， Christine 最終可以心平氣和的態度，來回望她擺脫了的沉悶小城生活，並且接受自己。