Lady Bird entered the festival circuit as somewhat of a question mark, and nobody was all that sure how it would play. Greta Gerwig has been a favorite since her arrival on the indie scene, but crafting a great directorial debut is a tricky task. The autobiographical picture wasn't an instant sensation at the jam-packed Telluride Film Festival, but as Gerwig's film pushed forward to Toronto and other festivals, word began to spread that Lady Bird was really something special. A24 set the film for a prime November release date, Oscar buzz grew for both Gerwig and star Saoirse Ronan, and some even began to speculate that this could be our Best Picture winner. Lady Bird made bank at the box office in limited release before a successful expansion, and as of this week, it's the best-reviewed film in the history of Rotten Tomatoes. A small film that many saw with virtually no expectations or pre-conceived notions had become a genuine event movie by the time I sat down to finally watch it.
And guess what? Lady Bird still blew me away. Greta Gerwig may have just made the first film that is scientifically impossible to dislike. It's hard to not fall head over heels in love with this movie. Lady Bird is vibrant and real, thrillingly alive while also filled with subtle touches that are nuanced and wonderful in infinite ways. Chronicling a year in the life of a lovably pretentious teenager, Gerwig alternates between gut-busting hilarity and remarkably naked emotion, told with the kind of honesty that you just can't fake. It's a movie that is difficult to describe and even more difficult to review, simply because it just does everything right. It strikes a tonal balance that is simply perfect, and it feels profound and blissful in equal measure. Led by the brilliant duo of Saoirse Ronan and perennial MVP Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird is one of the year's most joyous films. This is indie cinema at its absolute best.
Set in 2002, Lady Bird follows the adventures of the titular character (Ronan)- while her birth name is Christine McPherson, she prefers the slightly more eccentric moniker. Lady Bird is in her senior year of high school, and for anyone who has gone through that year in the 21st century, you know that it's less about finishing school work and more about figuring out the rest of your life. After spending most of her life in Sacramento, California, Lady Bird desperately wants to go to college on the east coast ("Where culture is!" she exclaims), but her financially struggling family and lackluster grades make it a difficult proposition. Her mother (Laurie Metcalf) wants her to go to a cheap and relatively close in-state school, but her father (Tracy Letts) is willing to help her with scholarships and applications for the more prestigious options.
With this backdrop, Lady Bird becomes a story about the adventures and mishaps of a notoriously difficult year in life. She goes to a Catholic school, and considering her rebellious persona and openly liberal positions, this becomes a continuous and humorous battle for the young protagonist. She also runs into some conflicts with her best friend, Julie (Beanie Feldstein), eventually becoming close with a richer, more popular girl (Odeya Rush). Lady Bird finds her way into the dating game for the first time, striking up relationships with two boys throughout the year- Danny (Lucas Hedges), an earnest, wealthy theater star, and Kyle (Timothee Chalamet), a devil-may-care, anti-capitalist dope. Within this swirl of mayhem, Lady Bird will reflect on her relationship with her family, and the different places and people who made her who she is today.
Judging by the various reactions I've seen from people on social media who grew up in the early aughts, Lady Bird captures a very specific experience in an accurate and hilarious manner. But even if kids wore different clothes and listened to different songs in the 1980s or 2010s, I think Greta Gerwig has really tapped into the overarching myth of American high school life in a surprisingly effective way. Experiences will undoubtedly differ, but I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of overwrought melodrama in Lady Bird. Compared to a classic like The Breakfast Club or more recent favorites like The Perks of Being a Wallflower or The Spectacular Now, Gerwig's film is free of a sweeping dramatic arc or tragic undertones. While poking fun at the absurdity of the whole high school experience, Gerwig almost captures this time period with a nostalgic fondness that is quite rare in this subgenre.
So many teenage films play off this idea that the institution of high school is somehow traumatic and brutal, filled with oppressive conformity, vile bullies, and infinite heartbreak. In Lady Bird, that's just not the case. Gerwig is more concerned with the way that we search for who we are in this formative time, whether that's through dramatic arts, popular new friends, or our ever-evolving relationship with our parents. That's not to say that the film is lacking a compelling sense of drama, or that it doesn't dabble in some of the character tropes we've come to expect from this kind of film. Gerwig is just intent on capturing this period in a way that feels gentle and warm. The characters are totally over high school- this movie captures the aimlessness of senior year in a way that impressed the hell out of me. But even though our titular protagonist cares little for the constraints of the Catholic school in her small town, Gerwig gives the film a reflective quality that is simply magnificent. Having just gone through this in literally the last six months, the final moments of senior year and the early days of college are a time of great reflection and nostalgia. The journey is filled with ups and downs, but by the time it's all over, you look back and find that these years were important in some way. And maybe the things you hated the whole time are quite wonderful in hindsight.
All of this is to say that Lady Bird feels real in a way that is both surprising and genuinely delightful. These characters are recognizable in one way or another, and even though Lady Bird is dramatic and pretentious almost to a fault, there's an insecurity to her that is captured beautifully by Gerwig's script and Saoirse Ronan's near-perfect performance. On paper, it's a bizarre choice for Ronan to return to this high school role after her Oscar-nominated performance in Brooklyn. However, the complexity that Ronan brings to the character of Lady Bird is undeniable- she's both enigmatic and empathetic, defined by tiresome quirks but lovable all the same. Ronan captures both Lady Bird's defiant, devil-may-care facade and the sweet thoughtfulness that lies beneath, striking an astonishing balance between the character's numerous contradictions. In the cast, Ronan is matched only by Laurie Metcalf, the ever-reliable actress who brilliantly brings acidic wit and tough love to Marion McPherson. Lady Bird and Marion's relationship is mediated in a way by the tremendous Tracy Letts as a kindly, depressed father, but Metcalf seizes every single moment she's on screen, with memorable scenes ranging from pointed verbal assaults to heartbreaking emotional breakdowns. It's a harsh but tender performance, and the way that Gerwig and her actors never resort to simple caricatures is utterly terrific.
But even beyond the central performances and the core narrative, Lady Bird is a movie punctuated by small moments and minor characters, scenes and people who shape the story in a way that is both funny and moving. Lucas Hedges broke out in a big way in last year's Manchester by the Sea, and after seeing him as the genial, emotionally tortured Danny O'Neill, I think it's safe to say that nobody can break down and cry on screen quite like him. While I haven't seen Timothee Chalamet in the highly acclaimed Call Me By Your Name as of yet, he's great here, playing the kind of high school rebel who is both magnetic and deeply unlikable. Odeya Rush hits the right notes as a gum-snapping rich girl, while Beanie Feldstein (Jonah Hill's younger sister) seems like a star in the making. Each of these supporting players gets a chance to shine, and there are so many indelible moments that stand as the best of the year. A botched prom that turns into a gorgeous evening, an awkward first sexual encounter, an emotional confrontation of closeted homosexuality, a mother's desperate swirl of feelings as she fights with her daughter- these perfectly staged scenes and little touches are a large part of what makes Lady Bird so special.
I could write more about why I love this movie so much, but at a certain point, you just have to see it for yourself. While there's plenty worth analyzing from a thematic and character perspective, there's just no denying that Lady Bird is top-notch entertainment from start to finish, a slice of life adventure that is touching and hilarious in equal measure. It's one of the best high school movies ever made, a coming of age saga told to perfection. It's a movie for everybody, and it's so pure and lovely on virtually every level. In the dumpster fire of 2017, we just don't deserve something this good. But the movies keep delivering, and Greta Gerwig's deeply felt and sharply observed directorial debut is one of the year's very best.
THE FINAL GRADE: A (9.2/10)
Images courtesy of A24
And guess what? Lady Bird still blew me away. Greta Gerwig may have just made the first film that is scientifically impossible to dislike. It's hard to not fall head over heels in love with this movie. Lady Bird is vibrant and real, thrillingly alive while also filled with subtle touches that are nuanced and wonderful in infinite ways. Chronicling a year in the life of a lovably pretentious teenager, Gerwig alternates between gut-busting hilarity and remarkably naked emotion, told with the kind of honesty that you just can't fake. It's a movie that is difficult to describe and even more difficult to review, simply because it just does everything right. It strikes a tonal balance that is simply perfect, and it feels profound and blissful in equal measure. Led by the brilliant duo of Saoirse Ronan and perennial MVP Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird is one of the year's most joyous films. This is indie cinema at its absolute best.
Set in 2002, Lady Bird follows the adventures of the titular character (Ronan)- while her birth name is Christine McPherson, she prefers the slightly more eccentric moniker. Lady Bird is in her senior year of high school, and for anyone who has gone through that year in the 21st century, you know that it's less about finishing school work and more about figuring out the rest of your life. After spending most of her life in Sacramento, California, Lady Bird desperately wants to go to college on the east coast ("Where culture is!" she exclaims), but her financially struggling family and lackluster grades make it a difficult proposition. Her mother (Laurie Metcalf) wants her to go to a cheap and relatively close in-state school, but her father (Tracy Letts) is willing to help her with scholarships and applications for the more prestigious options.
With this backdrop, Lady Bird becomes a story about the adventures and mishaps of a notoriously difficult year in life. She goes to a Catholic school, and considering her rebellious persona and openly liberal positions, this becomes a continuous and humorous battle for the young protagonist. She also runs into some conflicts with her best friend, Julie (Beanie Feldstein), eventually becoming close with a richer, more popular girl (Odeya Rush). Lady Bird finds her way into the dating game for the first time, striking up relationships with two boys throughout the year- Danny (Lucas Hedges), an earnest, wealthy theater star, and Kyle (Timothee Chalamet), a devil-may-care, anti-capitalist dope. Within this swirl of mayhem, Lady Bird will reflect on her relationship with her family, and the different places and people who made her who she is today.
Judging by the various reactions I've seen from people on social media who grew up in the early aughts, Lady Bird captures a very specific experience in an accurate and hilarious manner. But even if kids wore different clothes and listened to different songs in the 1980s or 2010s, I think Greta Gerwig has really tapped into the overarching myth of American high school life in a surprisingly effective way. Experiences will undoubtedly differ, but I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of overwrought melodrama in Lady Bird. Compared to a classic like The Breakfast Club or more recent favorites like The Perks of Being a Wallflower or The Spectacular Now, Gerwig's film is free of a sweeping dramatic arc or tragic undertones. While poking fun at the absurdity of the whole high school experience, Gerwig almost captures this time period with a nostalgic fondness that is quite rare in this subgenre.
So many teenage films play off this idea that the institution of high school is somehow traumatic and brutal, filled with oppressive conformity, vile bullies, and infinite heartbreak. In Lady Bird, that's just not the case. Gerwig is more concerned with the way that we search for who we are in this formative time, whether that's through dramatic arts, popular new friends, or our ever-evolving relationship with our parents. That's not to say that the film is lacking a compelling sense of drama, or that it doesn't dabble in some of the character tropes we've come to expect from this kind of film. Gerwig is just intent on capturing this period in a way that feels gentle and warm. The characters are totally over high school- this movie captures the aimlessness of senior year in a way that impressed the hell out of me. But even though our titular protagonist cares little for the constraints of the Catholic school in her small town, Gerwig gives the film a reflective quality that is simply magnificent. Having just gone through this in literally the last six months, the final moments of senior year and the early days of college are a time of great reflection and nostalgia. The journey is filled with ups and downs, but by the time it's all over, you look back and find that these years were important in some way. And maybe the things you hated the whole time are quite wonderful in hindsight.
All of this is to say that Lady Bird feels real in a way that is both surprising and genuinely delightful. These characters are recognizable in one way or another, and even though Lady Bird is dramatic and pretentious almost to a fault, there's an insecurity to her that is captured beautifully by Gerwig's script and Saoirse Ronan's near-perfect performance. On paper, it's a bizarre choice for Ronan to return to this high school role after her Oscar-nominated performance in Brooklyn. However, the complexity that Ronan brings to the character of Lady Bird is undeniable- she's both enigmatic and empathetic, defined by tiresome quirks but lovable all the same. Ronan captures both Lady Bird's defiant, devil-may-care facade and the sweet thoughtfulness that lies beneath, striking an astonishing balance between the character's numerous contradictions. In the cast, Ronan is matched only by Laurie Metcalf, the ever-reliable actress who brilliantly brings acidic wit and tough love to Marion McPherson. Lady Bird and Marion's relationship is mediated in a way by the tremendous Tracy Letts as a kindly, depressed father, but Metcalf seizes every single moment she's on screen, with memorable scenes ranging from pointed verbal assaults to heartbreaking emotional breakdowns. It's a harsh but tender performance, and the way that Gerwig and her actors never resort to simple caricatures is utterly terrific.
But even beyond the central performances and the core narrative, Lady Bird is a movie punctuated by small moments and minor characters, scenes and people who shape the story in a way that is both funny and moving. Lucas Hedges broke out in a big way in last year's Manchester by the Sea, and after seeing him as the genial, emotionally tortured Danny O'Neill, I think it's safe to say that nobody can break down and cry on screen quite like him. While I haven't seen Timothee Chalamet in the highly acclaimed Call Me By Your Name as of yet, he's great here, playing the kind of high school rebel who is both magnetic and deeply unlikable. Odeya Rush hits the right notes as a gum-snapping rich girl, while Beanie Feldstein (Jonah Hill's younger sister) seems like a star in the making. Each of these supporting players gets a chance to shine, and there are so many indelible moments that stand as the best of the year. A botched prom that turns into a gorgeous evening, an awkward first sexual encounter, an emotional confrontation of closeted homosexuality, a mother's desperate swirl of feelings as she fights with her daughter- these perfectly staged scenes and little touches are a large part of what makes Lady Bird so special.
I could write more about why I love this movie so much, but at a certain point, you just have to see it for yourself. While there's plenty worth analyzing from a thematic and character perspective, there's just no denying that Lady Bird is top-notch entertainment from start to finish, a slice of life adventure that is touching and hilarious in equal measure. It's one of the best high school movies ever made, a coming of age saga told to perfection. It's a movie for everybody, and it's so pure and lovely on virtually every level. In the dumpster fire of 2017, we just don't deserve something this good. But the movies keep delivering, and Greta Gerwig's deeply felt and sharply observed directorial debut is one of the year's very best.
THE FINAL GRADE: A (9.2/10)
Images courtesy of A24
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