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The cinematic miracle of 'Lady Bird'
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'Lady Bird' is Greta Gerwig's directorial debut and a cinematic miracle. (A24/-)
I
n her directorial debut, Lady Bird, it is apparent that Greta Gerwig has written a love letter to Sacramento, her home town. But even more so, she has written an open and honest letter to her intense, turbulent teenage years and the stormy dynamic with her parents.
Set in Sacramento, California in 2002, Christine “Lady Bird" McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) yearns for a more interesting life. This leads to her picking her own name, going to college on the East Coast (far from home), then to Connecticut or New Hampshire, “where writers live in the woods”.
In her final year at a Catholic high school, she is faced with the reality that nothing ever stays the same. Herself included. School is ending, friends are changing, lovers are confusing and home is never not troubling. But the 17-year-old also finds charm in school plays, is earnest in school and genuinely wants to go to prom when her cool friends prefer to ditch it.
Her mother, Marion McPherson (a shining Laurie Metcalf), works as a nurse who then starts working a double-shift when her husband (Tracy Letts) loses his job. We see Marion as a stern and tense mother, especially when Lady Bird’s antics seem to rattle her ‘sensible’ mind.
Marion and Lady Bird are both opinionated and strong-willed. Both are frustrated with each other because they frequently clash, and it appears that it comes from being afraid that one is never enough for the other.
Read also: Saoirse Ronan, Oscar veteran at 23, laughs off her chances
Lady Bird may still need help from other people to figure out how she feels and where she is in the world. The school principal proposed that Lady Bird might be in love with Sacramento, after reading her touching essay. To which a confused Lady Bird replied, “I was just paying attention”. Shelly (girlfriend of Miguel, Lady Bird’s brother) states that Marion “has a big heart”, something that seems to be at odds with Lady Bird’s stance.
Tensions coming from a lack of (and having) money shape the relationships in the film. Lady Bird and best friend Julie (Beanie Feldstein) spend after-school hours walking along the posh side of the city, picking out their dream houses. There’s Kyle (Timothée Chalamet), the romantic interest who prefers bartering as he hates money yet comfortably lives in a mansion. And Lady Bird suddenly insists on being friends with Jenna the rich girl, ditching Julie in the process. Financial difficulty is also what ultimately becomes a strain in Lady Bird and Marion’s relationship, as going to school on the East Coast would wreak havoc on the family’s already troubled finances.
One of the reasons why Lady Bird succeeds is its actors. Skillful acting caught by subtle glances from Gerwig adds emotional levels to the film. An array of feelings captured in one moment, especially from Marion and Lady Bird’s exchanges, is what makes the film soar. The layered emotions of family and romantic relationships are tackled with good grace and humor, making them genuine and at times devastating.
Taking us though the adolescence years of tumultuous friendships, romantic entanglements and strain in the family, Lady Bird is filled with hilarious and touching moments. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Only when she is finally away from home does Lady Bird again and again get reminded of who she is (or who she could be). She drops her chosen name and utters her real one to a stranger at her first college party. That same name fades into her vision on her wrist band upon waking up in the hospital recovering from a drunken night. In the final scene, she finally understands what it means and what it takes to be Christine, and she has her parents, especially her mother, to thank.
