LADY BIRD REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Greta Gerwig is known for her acting and appearing in films such as Frances Ha, 20th Century Women and Jackie. However, with Lady Bird, she makes her directorial debut and it's an impressive one at that. It was released in the United States towards the end of last year and it proved to be incredibly successful, both with critics and audiences. On the review aggregation website, Rotten Tomatoes, it received a perfect 100% score, which means all critics gave it a positive review. They praised Saoirse Ronan's acting and Gerwig's writing and direction. Because of this, Lady Bird quickly became one of my most anticipated films of 2018. 

Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson (Ronan) fights against but is exactly like her wildly loving, deeply opinionated and strong-willed mom, Marion (Laurie Metcalf), a nurse working tirelessly to keep her family afloat after Lady Bird's father, Larry (Tracy 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.

Despite the high expectations I had for Lady Bird, it didn't disappoint. It is a thoroughly engaging motion picture that perfectly captures that of a woman who is too young to be considered an adult but too old to be a child. She's at the stage in her life where she's trying to make all the important decisions in her life including deciding which college she wants to go to after she finishes school. Lady Bird wants to go to a college in New York City, however, her mother wants her to remain in Sacramento. This leads to a conflict in their relationship. I think that a lot of younger audience members will be able to relate to Lady Bird and her relationship with her mother and wanting to be more independent. The first scene shows Lady Bird and her mother driving home and it's not long before an argument soon develops, leading to Lady Bird throwing herself out of the car. She doesn't sustain any serious injuries but wears a cast on her arm for most of the film. The relationship between Lady Bird and her mother shows that Gerwig understands how important the relationship between a mother and daughter is, however, she also knows that it has its ups and downs.

I can clearly see that Lady Bird means a lot to Gerwig as she spent several years writing the screenplay. The original draft ran at 350 pages, which is equivalent to a six hour long feature, and the first title was Mothers and Daughters. It wasn't until 2015 that Gerwig and her team secured financing from IAC Films, who produced the film alongside Scott Rudin Productions. Although Lady Bird has been described as semi-autobiographical, Gerwig has said that "nothing in the movie literally happened in my life, but it has a core of truth that resonates with what I know". To prepare the cast and crew, Gerwig gave them her old high-school yearbooks, photos, and journals and took them on a tour of her hometown. Although Noah Baumbach offered to direct, Gerwig turned him down, however, it's not hard to see that she took inspiration from him after appearing in two of his features including Frances Ha and Mistress America. Her films have a similar tone to Baumbach's features, however, it's not hard to see that Gerwig has added her own personal touch. If Lady Bird had been directed by someone other than Gerwig, I don't think it would've been as successful. Gerwig understands her characters and wants to tell the story in her own way so I can understand why she chose to direct.

At the time of writing this, Lady Bird is currently nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Motion Picture Of The Year, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Ronan, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Metcalf, Best Achievement in Directing and Best Original Screenplay for Gerwig. I think that it thoroughly deserves to be nominated and I would like to see Lady Bird take home a few awards, however, it's incredibly tough competition this year, with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Shape Of Water looking to become the big winners of the night. However, this doesn't take away how great the film is. Since making her debut feature film appearance in I Could Never Be Your Woman in 2007, Ronan has continued to impress. In her third feature, she received her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Joe Wright's Atonement when she was only 12. She continued to give memorable performances in films such as The Lovely Bones, Hanna and Brooklyn, with her performance in the latter film earning her another Academy Award nomination. As the titular character, Ronan further proves why she's one of the best actresses working today. She understands Lady Bird and inhabits her fierce and rebellious attitude. The entirety of Lady Bird is worth watching just for her performance alone. I was unsure about Metcalf, at first, as, since it began in 2007, she has made recurring appearances on the sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, where she plays a similar role as Sheldon Cooper's mother, Mary. However, I couldn't have been more wrong about Metcalf. She proves she's capable of handling dramatic roles and earns her current Oscar nomination. Supporting roles come from Lucas Hedges (making his second appearance in an Oscar nominated feature, the other being Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Timothée Chalamet (who, like Hedges, appears in two Oscar nominated films, the other being Call Me By Your Name for which he is nominated for Best Leading Actor), Beanie Feldstein and Odeya Rush. These supporting roles all play a big part in Lady Bird's life and contribute to her story effectively.

Of the Oscar nominated films, that I've seen, Lady Bird is definitely the most enjoyable to watch. I think that this is because, in some aspects, I could relate to Lady Bird and understand her point of view. I think that a lot of viewers, who are the same age as Lady Bird, will enjoy this film. Greta Gerwig makes an impressive directorial debut and Saoirse Ronan gives one of her best performances yet. 

9/10