Review of Lady Bird (2017) by John M — 14 Feb 2018

Gotta grow up some time. So this is about a seventeen girl that goes by the name Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan). That's not the name that her parents gave her, but it's the name she has personally chosen to be called.

She is trying to figure out where she is going in life, so naturally there are going to be some growing pains along the way. I know the way that this sounds: on paper, this appears to be just another coming of age movie.

It's been done a million times before, what makes Lady Bird so special? Well, I'm glad you asked, because it's the script, the acting, and just overall execution that makes this film fire on all cylinders.

Now there is nothing wrong with going with a formula that is tried and true if you're willing to put inspiration into it, and that is totally the case here. I know that director Greta Gerwig has said in interviews that this story isn't autobiographical per se, but it really feels like it is.

Regardless, you can tell that she injected a lot of herself into this story, and it ends up paying off big time. You can also tell that her and Saoirse Ronan were on the same page for this entire film, and I think that they both pushed each other to be better in their specific positions.

I believe this is likely the first of many collaborations that they will have together, and I will continue to follow the careers of both of these talented ladies. And speaking of talented ladies, Laurie Metcalf absolutely kills it as Lady Bird's mother.

She is outstanding, and what really helps to take the film to the next level is their mother/daughter relationship. I've already spoken to a number of different people that have told me that this reminds me of the relationship that they had with their mother or daughter, which means that it is all the easier to connect with the film if you can transpose yourself into it.

Lady Bird has charm for days, and it is offbeat and quirky in a great way. It moves very quickly, and I would say it moves almost too quick. This is a very fast 94 minutes, and I would actually have been okay if this was an extra fifteen or twenty minutes longer, as I really was enjoying the characters that much.

I do suppose that it is better to be too short than too long, so it's not something I'm docking points for. The film overcomes its familiar groundings because it is so sharp and because it feels so authentic, and for that I give it an enthusiastic recommendation.