Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Beanie Feldstein, Odeya Rush, Jordan Rodrigues
Director: Greta Gerwig
Release date: 23rd February 2018
It’s 2002 in Sacramento, California and Christine McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) is a 17 year old with big plans. She is making a car trip with her mother (Laurie Metcalf) and an argument ensues. In a fit of rage and while the car is moving, Christine opens the car door and jumps out. Flash forward in time and she is now sporting a plaster cast on her arm from the ‘accident’. Her relationship with her mother is extremely fractured and volatile and she tells everyone that her given name is now Lady Bird. With her best friend, Julie, she auditions for a part in the High School play and along the way she meets and falls for Danny (Lucas Hedges). The pair get extremely close but a major incident puts a huge spanner in the works on their relationship. Lady Bird has one goal/ dream and that is to go to college in New York. Trouble is, her overbearing mother is dead set against it and refuses to let her go. She and her dad are very close and he does everything he can to help her. Will she get her heart’s desire or is she bound for Community College in Sacramento?
A tale of friendships, teenage angst, coming of age and difficult relationships with family members, ‘Lady Bird’ is the story of one teenage girl’s journey into adulthood. It tells us about her family unit and how fractured it can become over time.
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding ‘Lady Bird’ this past while, mostly because of its lead actress, Saoirse Ronan. One of the best actresses to come out of Ireland in a good while now, she totally immerses you in Christine/ Lady Bird’s life. Even though in real life she has a definite Irish accent, Saoirse was in fact born in America and her switching between accents seems to be fairly effortless.
I enjoyed the movie a lot but to be totally honest, I don’t really understand all the hype that’s been surrounding it. Maybe it’s just me… I felt the same way about ‘Birdman’ starring Michael Keaton back in 2014. I guess I just didn’t get all the chat that was going on surrounding the movie. It’s kind of the same feeling with ‘Lady Bird’, though I definitely enjoyed this one a lot lot more.
If you love watching some great acting and/ or ‘coming of age’ movies, then definitely go see ‘Lady Bird’. I won’t be surprised if Saoirse gets an Oscar nod or even wins one for this movie. She’s pretty great in it.
Overall: 7.5/10
