Review of Lady Bird (2017) by Nbfc — 11 Jan 2018

Gerwig’s directorial debut is an extremely confident and poignant tale of a teenage girl as she navigates through one year of her life as a Catholic school student in Sacramento, California.

Stylistically this independent feature is very reminiscent of the understated documentary vibe of Richard Linklator’s Boyhood with it’s impressionistic editing and willingness to just…..well…show a life (Ex. teenagers hanging out, practicing for a lame school play, first dates, being away from home at college).

So I guess an alternative title for this would be Girlhood?

Actually, I think LB manages to surpass Boyhood because it makes it’s points regarding life and growing pains in a more efficient and energetic way in it’s ninety minute runtime than Boyhood in nearly three hours thanks to it’s disciplined editing and sharp dialogue.

But by far the highlight of the film is the tumultuous dynamic between Christine and her mother (Metcalf), especially one particularly uncomfortable but funny sequence involving something as timeless as shopping for a prom dress. The acting by both Ronan and Metcalf is more than deserving of the accolades. Anybody who has ever had a difficult relationship with their mother will find a lot of moments in this movie that will hit close to home.

Even though there is plenty of drama to go around, there are also a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, especially between Christine and her friend Julie (Beanie Feldstein). Probably my favorite little moment was a scene in which Christine and Julie are goofing around in a church that exhibits some very cute bonding moments presented in a hilariously unconventional manner. It all feels very down-to-earth, personal and…well….real.

That is almost the key word here: real.

Everything about this movie feels true to life. There are no big moral speeches, no over-the-top melodrama, no sense of self-importance, or calculated soundtrack inserts.

If I had any complaint about this film it’s regarding Father Leviatch, Christine’s theater instructor played by Stephen McKinley Henderson. There is a certain reveal regarding his character about halfway through that never really ends up having a pay-off. I know the movie is called LB, so in the end it is about Christine journey but I wouldn’t be surprised if something significant got left in the editing room because Leviatch just kinda disappears after a while.