Lady Bird

Lady Bird

Starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges

Directed by Greta Gerwig

The Story:
In Sacramento in 2002, Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) is experiencing the traditional pains of being a high school senior - finding love, enduring her Catholic high school teachers, spending time with her best friend Julie (Beanie Feldstein), and applying for colleges.  She wishes to leave the prison that is Sacramento and head to a liberal arts college on the east coast, but her mother Marion (Laurie Metcalf) is avidly against it - mostly because the family is scrounging for money.  She's working double shifts at a mental hospital, and her husband Larry (Tracy Letts) has just lost his job - plus they're supporting Lady Bird's older brother Miguel (Jordan Rodrigues) and his girlfriend, who live with them.  As Lady Bird maneuvers her way through her final year of high school, she continually butts heads with her equally strong-willed mother, resulting in a coming-of-age story that's unparalleled in other films.

The Synopsis:
Recently, there's been a big issue in the world of cinema and the critical website Rotten Tomatoes.  Many filmmakers are blaming the site for their lack of attendance, even calling for the destruction of the site.  Films like "Baywatch," "King Arthur," and "The Mummy" bombed in cinemas after their abysmal Rotten Tomatoes ratings, which led to one of the poorest summer movie attendances in years.  As the price of movie tickets rise, people are becoming more and more selective about the films they're going out to see, and a bad review (or, in the case of "Justice League" and others, many bad reviews) could sink the film and cause it to become a bomb.

Then, there's "Lady Bird."  This film, written and directed by Greta Gerwig, did what mega blockbusters like "Justice League," "The Dark Tower," and "Transformers: The Last Knight" could only dream of - receiving a coveted 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  In fact, it broke the record previously held by "Toy Story 2," where the Pixar classic was rated "fresh" by 163 reviewers.  "Lady Bird" is now ranked "fresh" by over 177 reviewers, and continues to climb. 

So, why haven't you heard of this film?

Possibly because the moviegoing audience finds themselves in a delicate conundrum: they don't want to see terrible movies, but are afraid of taking a risk and seeing something new, original, and not based off a book, video game, or other franchise.  So, instead of spending their hard-earned money to see a genuine piece of cinema, they decide to keep it and possibly wait for it to come out on home video.  This causes a disservice to both the audience and the filmmaker: the audience misses out on a unique experience of viewing an impeccable work of art on the big screen, and filmmakers find themselves worried about making something new and creative - because people won't see it.  It's like if you had the opportunity to see The Mona Lisa in person, but instead opt to see it in a picture on your phone.  Such as it is with "Lady Bird" - a true Mona Lisa of our time.  Why choose to see this once-in-a-lifetime cinematic gem on your small (even for 65") television screen when you can bask in all its glory on the big screen where it belongs?

You might think after that last sentence that "Lady Bird" is something I've never seen before.  While the topics are generic and the setting is equally so, there's a uniqueness to this story that transcends its boundaries and rises to greatness in ways that have never been done before.  "Lady Bird" is teenage angst, but it's also pure delight.  "Lady Bird" is a quarreling family, yet it's also about the unbreakable family bonds.  "Lady Bird" is a film that...is incomplete, but not in a bad way.  It's life.  Not all films should have that climax ending, where every conflict is resolved in a nicely-tied bow, much like life itself, which also doesn't finish that way.  We're not transported to some far away land, a time long ago or yet to come, nor are we introduced to beings or creations beyond our imagination: we're witnessing the life of one struggling teenage girl to find her place in the world.  And we are captivated by it.

It's difficult to express how magical this film is, because it's so nuanced in its levels of events that it goes above them.  We see Lady Bird fall in love for the first time, and witness how it all ends up, yet it's in the most unexpected ways.  We see the family dynamic of Lady Bird with her mother, who one minute are crying shared tears of the ending of "The Grapes of Wrath" and then suddenly bickering about college choices.  We see Lady Bird ditch her old friends for new ones, but then we see the outcome of that and how it affects them all.  The film turns itself on a dime, having us rolling in laughter one minute and sitting in stunned silence the next, sometimes it happens even faster than we can catch up to (in one particular scene, I found myself laughing but realizing too late that it was a highly emotional moment, but it was done in such a beautiful way I still wasn't disappointed by it). 

Saoirse Ronan plays the titular character, a free-spirited girl who's also painfully insecure, ashamed of her family's lower-level economic class but also fearlessly claiming she is "Lady Bird" - a name she gave to herself, even if it's mostly to tick off her mother.  At age 23, Saoirse has already established herself as one of the most talented actresses of our generation, even if you can't pronounce her name.  She's been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has appeared in some of the most critically acclaimed films in recent memory, including "Brooklyn," "Atonement," "How I Live Now" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel."  She has a wholly unique look that's ethereal and absolutely beautiful, with her steely blue eyes that, much like a cobra, hypnotizes those around her and cause them to stare in awe-struck wonder at the beauty before them.  I said her work in "Brooklyn" was her defining moment, but now "Lady Bird" has far exceeded that title, and there's no doubt we'll be hearing her name in contention come Oscar season, and I wouldn't be surprised if she runs away with it.  She gives Lady Bird life through her vulnerability, even if she doesn't want to always show it.  It's a beautiful thing to behold.

Equally as beautiful is Lady Bird's long-suffering mother, played by Laurie Metcalf, who will also be hearing her name come awards season.  She - much like her former "Roseanne" co-star John Goodman - has shed the former television series staple behind her and emerged as a fierce force of nature in cinema, much like a caterpillar sheds its skin to become a beautiful butterfly.  Her performance here is so subtle and natural that it's like we're watching our own mother on screen.  She loves Lady Bird with all her heart, but Lady Bird doesn't see it sometimes, and we see them butt heads on more than one occasion.  We see the sacrifice she makes, but also sees her overreact to events that could cause a permanent chasm to form between the two.  She's careful about her words, and values her daughter's opinion over all others, but then she lashes out in anger.  It's such a diametric performance you wouldn't be remissed to think she suffers from some undiagnosed bipolar disorder, but Metcalf brings the performance to a powerful denouement that is, in itself, both rousing and minuscule at the same time. 

Then there's two supporting characters who also give rousing performances.  As Lady Bird's father, Tracy Letts showcases a character that's rarely seen on film: a man, husband, and father who has lost control of everything in his life.  We associate the husband as the caregiver and head of the household, but here he's a depressed man who has lost his job, and finds that finding a new one could be exceedingly difficult.  He serves more the mother role that Lady Bird's mother does, and gives a painfully personal performance that anyone watching can identify with.

Then there's Lady Bird's best friend, Julie, played by Beanie Feldstein.  She's not a beautiful girl by any stretch of the imagination, but her true beauty shines from within.  She's not afraid to take center stage, even in her own quirky manner, which often means finding herself in an oversized hoodie with her hands in her pockets.  She delivers some of the best lines in the film, and yet serves as someone more than just a best friend, but a character we feel for deeply. 

In essence, "Lady Bird" epitomizes everything that is right in cinema, so the 100% rating comes as no surprise.

The Summary:
In a world of needless sequels, "Lady Bird" is that rare gem of a film that I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel to, but due to its artistic integrity and powerful performances, I know there will never be a "Lady Bird 2" - and I'm alright with that, because even though this film is left unfinished, that's how life really is.

The Score: A+