A fresh & genuine coming-of-age story
Lady Bird is Greta Gerwig’s first full-length feature directing job. She wrote the screenplay as well, and the film has earned five Oscars nominations — Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress for Saoirse Ronan (as Lady Bird) and Best Supporting Actress for Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird’s mother). A partly autobiographical story, the film may be described as “yet another coming-of-age film” but its authenticity, utter charm and idiosyncratic voice has elevated it to be one of the year’s favorites, hailed by both critics and audiences.
Set in a 2002 Sacramento that is both reviled and loved by the title character, 17-yearold high school student Lady Bird (Ronan). Lady is one of those quirky individuals we all knew back in high school, yearning for something better for herself, dreaming of finding artistic fulfillment in some place with a stronger sense of culture, like New York. Born as Christine, she only answers to Lady Bird, the “name given to me by me.” With such lofty ambitions, the sad reality is her parents can’t afford to send her to the East Coast, and she’s considered nothing more than a mediocre student.
It’s this set-up that’s honestly and charmingly explored by Gerwig’s wonderful screenplay. The first audition for the campus dramatics club is hilarious — she ends up with a non-speaking part. Her pining for romantic love is a Pandora’s Box of disasters — from the first kiss to that first heartbreak. And rather than sugarcoat her main protagonist, we’re offered that first betrayal of a best friend as Lady tries to inveigle herself with the fast crowd of the school.
But what raises the film to something more complex and rewarding is how the daughter-mother relationship is explored. One second they’re cursing and belittling each other, then triggered by some gesture or sentiment, they’re bonding like crazy the very next second. It’s that very typical lovehate relationship that so many adolescents and parents undergo as the child struggles to create his or her own identity. This one is reinforced by how protective Lady’s mother really is, not wanting to see her daughter’s dream disappoint or crush her.
Gerwig is the muse and real-life girlfriend of director Noah Baumbach; so whether by osmosis, or because she has finally found her own voice and vision, Gerwig has managed to give us a coming of age that actually feels fresh and genuine. This kind of Bird-watching is highly recommended.