Lady Bird follows Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson through her senior year of high school in Sacramento, California. She wants out. She calls Sacramento “the suburbs.” She calls her mother Marion “the suburbs.” The movie, directed by Greta Gerwig, plays as a comedy about ambition, family, and the strange way people love each other anyway.
Trailer, via A24.
Lady Bird and Her Mother
The engine of the film is the relationship between Lady Bird and Marion. Lady Bird resents her mother’s control. Marion resents her daughter’s rebellion. Both women want to protect the other, even as they push each other away. Saoirse Ronan plays Lady Bird with a sharp, funny edge, and Laurie Metcalf plays Marion with a quiet, patient fury that never tips into caricature.
Sacramento, the Suburbs
Sacramento is not a character in the film. It is the whole stage. The movie’s Sacramento is specific, particular, and loving. Lady Bird walks past closed-down stores, talks about her town like she’s leaving it behind, and then finds herself drawn back into its small dramas. The film understands that home is where you are stuck, and also where you learn to leave.
A Comedy About Failure
The film’s best jokes land because they are about failure. Lady Bird fails at romance, fails at college applications, fails at being the daughter she wants to be. Gerwig’s script turns these failures into grace notes rather than shame. Lady Bird is funny because it is honest about disappointment without losing its sense of wonder.
“We’re going to be fine.”
The Final Grade
Lady Bird earns its reputation as one of the best films of its year. It is a coming-of-age story that respects both the girl and the age. Ronan and Metcalf anchor a cast full of small, exact performances. Gerwig’s direction is confident and warm. The film never sentimentalizes its characters, and it never loses its sense of humor.
This is a film about growing up that does not pretend growing up is easy. It is a comedy about failure that never stops believing in the people who fail. It is a story about Sacramento that makes you feel like you live there.
KEY FACTS
– Title: Lady Bird
– Director: Greta Gerwig
– Lead actors: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf
– Year: 2017
– Runtime: 97 minutes
– Critical score: 9.3/10
Lady Bird is a quiet triumph. It is a film about identity, family, and the strange way people love each other anyway. It is funny, sad, and true. It is a perfect 9.3/10.
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