Film Review: ‘Lady Bird’ – A refreshingly sincere coming-of-age tale
Every once in a while, there’s a film that strikes so close to home at those universal truths about growing up that it resonates on a level altogether deeper than most films do. It could be that I remember being an awkward teenager a bit too well, or it could be that the mother-daughter dynamics in the film were eerily familiar to those between me and my own mom, but Lady Bird resurrected memories and emotions so authentic and organic to my teenage years that I at once savored and recoiled at them throughout the viewing, but loved every minute of it. And that’s a great thing! Films are supposed to do this to us – to speak to us in an honest way, to make us feel uncomfortable, to make us laugh out-loud or nervously, and to remind us of our messy humanity. And while Lady Bird may not be the best film you’ll see this year, it thoroughly succeeds in all of these areas, though I’m fully aware I’m probably the demographic that will most likely be sucked in by its themes of budding adulthood, what it means to be a good friend, and what it means to be a good daughter.
And while it’s surprising that this extremely assured film was the directorial debut for indie favorite Greta Gerwig, it should come as no surprise that her maiden outing is this film. After all, Gerwig has made a career starring in quirky indie fare, playing just-this-side-of-ordinary, angsty women trying to find their place in the world.
In a nutshell, Lady Bird takes us into the world of Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (a flawless Saoirse Ronan), who is an anxious, sassy, mediocre student in her senior year of highschool who’s itching to get out of her home town of Sacremento and go to college in a big city on the East Coast where there’s more “culture”. Partially standing in her way is her mother, Marion (an absolutely magnificent Laurie Metcalf), who spares no opportunity to tell her daughter about her shortcomings, as well as the harsh realities of her family’s shaky economic situation. We follow the strong-willed Lady Bird through a summer circa what has to be in the early 2000’s by its references to a not-too-long ago 9-11, and also by its conspicuous soundtrack of Dave Matthews Band and Alanis Morissette. She has a loyal best friend, Julie (Beanie Feldstein), who she alternates between being a good friend to, and an awful friend to. Lady Bird also engages in the types of casual lies one tells in order to fit in with the cooler kids, or with boys they’re trying to gain the affections of. We follow the impetuous Lady Bird as she often clumsily navigates the perils of romance, friendship, and being on the cusp of independence without actually really having it in its true form. She’s stubborn, imperfect, and vulnerable; there are times when you want to shake her, and there are times where you want to hug her. As such, she is one of the truest incarnations of the modern cinematic teen, further moving away from the various iterations of the sympathetic Molly Ringwald type that became so common in the movies of my youth.
There isn’t much plot to the film, but it doesn’t need it when you have such gut-punchingly rich performances from the likes of Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf. And while it should come as no surprise that Ronan completely infuses Lady Bird with a righteous, flawed, warts-and-all authenticity, my favorite part of the film was Metcalf. Metcalf’s Marion plays a mom that pulls no punches with her defiant daughter, and often skirts the line of cruelty on occasion, but you never doubt that it comes from a place of fear for her daughter’s future, and ultimately, unconditional love. While she is the woman that will tell her daughter that she won’t amount to anything, she’s also the same mother who will take you shopping for a Thanksgiving dress, and hem it for you. Metcalf totally epitomises the mother who spares no opportunity to drop some knowledge about life’s harsh realities, while all the while trying to protect her brood like a proud mama bear. The chemistry between Ronan and Metcalf totally made the movie for me, and tugged at my heartstrings in visceral way.
The rest of the cast is equally delightful. Beanie Feldstein is warm, charming and goofy as Julie; recent Oscar nominee for Manchester by the Sea, Lucas Hedges, plays Lady Bird’s boyfriend Danny with an upstanding innocence that diverges greatly from his previous role; Odeya Rush, as Lady Bird’s rich and popular friend, Jenna, gives her character the requisite shallowness and aloofness, while also somehow retaining her humanity; and as Lady Bird’s father, Larry, Tracy Letts perfectly embodies the more passive, good cop Dad who – unlike Marion – finds himself somewhat enabling Lady Bird’s defiant behavior and not holding the hard line of telling-it-like-it-is that his wife does. It’s a great cast all around, creating realistic and charming small town universe (if you want to call Sacramento a small town) that I was eager to keep watching.
Final verdict: If you’re into low-budget, indie quirk fare with a lot of soul , then you really can’t go wrong with this movie. It’s a genuine slice-of-life charmer that will remind many of you of what it was like to be a teen (for better or worse). While this quiet film may not be as flashy or complex as most of the Oscar fare out there this season, it deserves to be considered for its outstanding cast and its beating heart.
