Lady Bird
(2017)Time to fly.
Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf and Tracy Letts star in this Northern California coming-of-age drama written and directed by Greta Gerwig. Winner of Best Picture & Actress at the 2018 Golden Globes. Nominated for Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Leading & Supporting Actress for Ronan & Metcalf.... More
Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Ronan) fights against but is exactly like her wildly loving, deeply opinionated and strong-willed mom (Metcalf), a nurse working tirelessly to keep her family afloat after Lady Bird’s father (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.Hide
-
Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) & Actress for a Musical or Comedy (Ronan), Golden Globes 2018
-
Directed by Greta Gerwig ('Nights and Weekends')
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Stephen Henderson, Lois Smith
Written by Greta Gerwig
Flicks Review
BY Amanda Robinson Flicks Writer
Like most girls raised in faith, or otherwise in a town where the coolest spot to hang out is a parking lot, seventeen-year-old Christine (Saoirse Ronan) — who only answers to her self-christened nickname Lady Bird — steers moments in an effort towards evidence. She pictures herself as a girl in a movie and she knows when to cut.... More
A story about letting go as much as coming of age, Lady Bird, directed by Frances Ha’s Greta Gerwig, exquisitely renders the complex, funny, turbulent love between mother and daughter, which is to say, the way desire can feel like betrayal. The cinematic shorthands Lady Bird covets — a spiral staircase, a kitchen island, a TV room, New York — all speak to a compensation for class that is somehow thrilling to see reflected.
The close attention Gerwig pays to her actors is tangible, and makes it easy to forget this is her solo feature directorial debut. She brings with her a decade of acting, writing, and producing experience, as well as an astute aesthetic sensibility discernable in her consideration of cadence, gesture, costume, and light. The film is a distinct portrait of 2002 soundtracked by Dave Matthews Band, Stephen Sondheim musical numbers, and Iraq war coverage. Thankfully, it never reads as if Gerwig is trying to convince us of anything.
Each character is lived in and every casting choice feels entirely inevitable. Ronan is seamless as a teenage girl who so desperately wants something more than small-town California, ably matched by a compelling Laurie Metcalf, her mother whose love too often finds itself mistranslated. Tracy Letts is a delight as Lady Bird’s father, and newcomer Beanie Feldstein is magic as her best friend, Julie. Call Me By Your Name’s Timothée Chalamet plays Lady Bird’s anarchist-adjacent band boyfriend with total charm.
In one scene, a schoolteacher notes how lovingly Lady Bird writes about Sacramento. Lady Bird is slow to concede, insisting she simply describes the city, pays attention. “Don’t you think maybe they’re the same thing?” her teacher posits: “Love and attention?” If so, it’s Greta Gerwig’s love that carries Lady Bird home.Hide
The Peoples' Reviews
Reviewed & Rated by
Your rating & review
Rate / Review this movieRate and/or review
Lady Bird
BY Ken-Burns superstar
Want to kill time? This will bring you back to earth. Real, really funny, real good.
BY JackWallace superstar
It doesn't reinvent the coming of age genre, but Lady Bird is an enjoyable, heartfelt, feel-good movie, and an impressive solo directorial debut from Greta Gerwig. Sharp script, great performances all around. This is the best acting I've seen from Saoirse Ronan. The story moves quickly at a short but sweet 94 minutes. Recommended.
BY Newt superstar
Greta Gerwig's debut directorial work sees Saoirse Ronan take centre stage in a coming-of-age-style movie which falls far from that said movie trope. A balanced blend of humour and meaningful episodes of drama propel Lady Bird to the heights cinema going pleasure.
BY filmlover superstar
plenty of people already love this film but for me the cliched 'coming of age' moments came too thick and fast .
i am sure there will be rewards from the academy in a year where a woman director is a much needed token and this is a good solid piece of film making that will be loved by many young women who will surely see much of themselves reflected. still, i found myself unmoved... More and at times bored in this set piece. clearly, though, we are witnessing the progression of two great careers in gerwig and ronan.Hide
Showing 5 of 6 reviews. See all reviews
The Press Reviews
A sweet, deeply personal portrayal of female adolescence that's more attuned to the bonds between best girlfriends than casual flings with boys, writer-director Greta Gerwig's beautiful Lady Bird flutters with the attractively loose rhythms of youth. Full Review
It’s a winsome bit of autobiography that rings with bittersweet truth, though some navel-gazing solipsism does creep in. Full Review
The kind of modest, miraculous low-budget gem that takes on a life of its own. Full Review
The film abounds with pinpoint insights into its mildly rebellious heroine's hunger to shed the restraints of home and Catholic school and bust into an independent life, and does so with a wealth of keenly observed detail. Full Review
Lady Bird doesn’t exist as a twee indie movie construct, it feels thrillingly real and deeply personal, every single beat ringing true. Full Review
A reminder that no genre is played out when there's a new artist around to see it with fresh eyes. Full Review
A touching ode to the city of Sacramento, clearly written by an adoring native. Full Review
A deeply funny film that still manages to grapple with heady emotional territory. Full Review
A symphony of perfectly observed adolescent awkwardness and the heartbreaking bravery it takes some kids just to face another day of not fitting in. Full Review
Lady Bird is well worth your while; she certainly won me over. Full Review
Care to comment?