Review of Lady Bird (2017) by Alex C — 24 Mar 2018

A charming and poignant coming-of-age and mother-daughter conflict film with elements of "Pretty in Pink", "The Breakfast Club", and other films mixed into a 2017 recipe.

Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson is a feisty, searching, scheming teen who doesn't exactly know what she wants from life, but is willing to strike out on her own to find it even while slowly recognizing along the way how deeply rooted she is in Sactown, and also how loved and cared for she is, though love may not always be tender and comforting.

Nicely paced and acted throughout - it was totally easy to forget Saoirse Ronan is not an American, as she sounded and acted like many an American teen.

Additionally, the film did not create any forced feel-good moments, didn't succumb to the need for music montage sequences and didn't take the easy way out.

At the same time, it did not ever really seem to feel completely of a piece to me...more like a series of sequences (if often charming and revealing) than a connected whole.

I cannot say I was disappointed, but for all of high ratings I guess I expected something with a little more magic than I experienced, but definitely a fine film all-around that may get better with a second viewing.