Lady Bird - Review

Lady Bird

In “Lady Bird”, Greta Gerwig reveals herself to be a bold new cinematic voice with her directorial debut, excavating both the humor and pathos in the turbulent bond between a mother and her teenage daughter.

Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) fights against but is exactly like her wildly loving, deeply opinionated and strong-willed mom (Laurie Metcalf), a nurse working tirelessly to keep her family afloat after Lady Bird's father (Tracy Letts) loses his job. Set in Sacramento, California in 2002, amidst a rapidly shifting American economic landscape, Lady Bird is an affecting look at the relationships that shape us, the beliefs that define us, and the unmatched beauty of a place called home.

REVIEW: Initially, I thought this film was going to be slog fest to watch as it immersed itself  deep in the endless, sometimes confusing teenage banter that seems only meaningful for the very adolescents who are speaking to one another at the time. But after the first 30 minutes of the film’s 93 minute running time, “Lady Bird” pleasantly evolved into a witty, mature story of a female high school senior who is ending one important aspect of her life (figuratively and literally) by transitioning into an another.

Everything about “Lady Bird” is uniquely original, fresh and wonderful. It’s enchanted with itself and rightfully so with a good blend of real hilarity and weighty dramatic angst. It’s also a film that was not not afraid to cry, hug itself or poke itself in the eye with some well executed family dynamic scenes by making the well-rounded story board point that the experiences of human emotional pain, personal mistakes and unintentional cruelty can be a part of living and in the end be one of earliest positive pathways to maturity.

Director Gerwig gives a rare sweet, intimate and personal portrayal of female adolescence and their uniqueness for a change by closely examining the bonds of female teenage friendships and relationships.  “Lady Bird” is a smart grounded look of female youths who are in charge and have their appropriate number of casual flings with boys and then make them wait to see if the phone rings the next day. And while this is a modest and humble looking film on the surface it still offers in a large way a snappy and spirited look of the difficulties and hidden unforeseen pleasures of leaving a childhood behind to becoming a woman.

3.50 Stars