[This review was originally written in November 2017 and is now being published that my internship is over. For an explanation of this, visit my Fall 2017 Important Update post.]
Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Greta Gerwig, Best Actress; Saoirse Ronan, Best Supporting Actress; Laurie Metcalf, and Best Original Screenplay.
Lady Bird flies alongside Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, a rebellious and strong-willed teenage girl intent on defying her mother at nearly every turn in her senior year of high school in Sacramento, California. The film then encompasses her experience balancing school work, her debut in the realm of musical theater, friendships, romantic relationships, and a turbulent family life while doing her darnedest to get accepted in any prestigious East Coast university.
Lady Bird is a comedic coming of age story written and directed by Greta Gerwig, functioning as Gerwig's solo directorial debut, which will surprise most considering that Gerwig seems to have a firm handle on things for her first solo outing. Some have said that Gerwig may have loosely based the events around her own teenage years, but regardless of whether the film is based on actual events or not, everything in Lady Bird is fully fleshed out and realized to the point where I thought this must have been based on real life events because the film felt so genuine.
One of the best things about Lady Bird though is how the film offers a fresh perspective on a seemingly typical coming of age narrative. Gerwig doesn't simply focus on one element of Lady Bird's life, but rather soaks it all in. I'd liken Lady Bird to last year's The Edge of Seventeen, but the films are radically different from one another in spite of their similar approaches of peeking into a teenage girl's day-to-day life. Like this year's other stand-out comedy, The Big Sick, Lady Bird also doesn't bother to fabricate events for the sake of a laugh, but the silly situations and priceless dialogue rather feel like things these characters would do or say in real life. This only makes the events funnier as comedies often try so hard to sell a gag that they lose sight of the likelihood it could or would ordinarily happen on its own.
At its core, Lady Bird is all about a rocky mother-daughter relationship, and it's thanks to actresses Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf that their mother-daughter dynamic comes across as both endearing and strained. Ronan really digs into the role, as Lady Bird is easily one of her quirkiest characters to date, while Metcalf realistically portrays the complexities of an over-worked mother who aims to keep her daughter in check. Metcalf excels at ensuring Marion comes across as a harsh, but loving mother, so the pathos is present and believe me, you'll be on the verge of tears (if not actually crying for whatever reason) towards the film's conclusion.
Filling out the remaining supporting characters are various actors you may recognize including the beaming Beanie Feldstein, Manchester By The Sea's subdued star Lucas Hedges, the apathetically-driven Odeya Rush, Call Me By Your Name's breakout actor Timothée Chalamet, and Tracy Letts as Lady Bird's best friend Julie, Lady Bird's first boyfriend Danny, the popular girl Jenna, the cool Kyle, and Lady Bird's lovable father Larry. Each actor delivers a performance differentiated from their prior work, so there are ample opportunities for their characters to shine.
Lady Bird is simply one of those captivating coming of age stories that don't come around too often. Lady Bird doesn't just fly away as one of the year's funniest comedies. It also soars as one of the year's best films on account of its accomplished direction, sharp script, and committed cast.
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