By now, you've probably heard that Lady Bird is one of the best movies of the year. And while I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites, I can't deny that I was totally enthralled from the first shot. It's an unspeakably quiet film, devoted to its pure and honest look into the life of its quirky and fun protagonist.
It's a fairly average coming-of-age story, though the remarkable thing here is that it focuses on a young woman. Taking place in 2002 California -- evoking a dirty sort of Bush-era nostalgia, the kind that we don't want to go back to now that we see where it has led us -- the film follows young "Lady Bird" Christine (Saoirse Ronan) as she navigates adolescence, school, family drama, work, and sex. I won't recount the plot because it is mostly immaterial and familiar.
What is not familiar, however, is the arresting approach of the filmmakers. Greta Gerwig's directorial debut is like a breath of fresh air in an age of sexual misconduct and gender and identity issues, violent politics and jaded cynicism. Her story and her film grow naturally, gracefully sidestepping gimmicks or conventions. There isn't a minute we don't believe these eccentric, broken, loving people or their ambitions and fears. An amazing cast -- including Lucas Hedges, Timothee Chalamet, Tracy Letts, and Lois Smith -- fit seamlessly into a film that is really only about its lead woman. Well, and her mother, played to masterful perfection by Laurie Metcalf, and if she doesn't make you cry you're doing it wrong.
Lady Bird is easily the funniest movie I've seen all year, standing apart from run-of-the-mill comedies by virtue of its heart of gold. Its quiet feminism is enchanting, its novelty inspired, and its power indisputable. She'll change you, if you let her.
IMDb: Lady Bird
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