REVIEW: LADY BIRD
My film studies professor would never forgive me if I called Greta Gerwig's directorial debut Lady Bird "real" or "relatable." "'Real' as compared to what?" she would say, her face scrunched up. "Relatable as compared to who?" So as to not disrespect her good name by copping out with generalizations, I'll call Lady Bird humble, hilarious, and easily one of 2017's finest films. It's a coming-of-age movie not devoid of cliches, but also not devoid of a massive heart.
Saoirse Ronan stars as the titular character, whose birth name is Christine. The deviation from the religious-sounding name is intentional: Lady Bird goes through the motions of Catholic school but she's no saint. She argues with her tough-love mother (Laurie Metcalf, who all but has the engravings of her name on the Oscar statue), romances with her theatre castmate Danny (the recently Oscar-nominated Lucas Hedges) and goofs off with her best friend Julie (Beanie Feldstein). In other words, a pretty normal high school senior. She's not overly quirky like Max Fischer in Rushmore, though that movie's goals are much different. In Wes Anderson's film, Max has to win the heart of the teacher Ms. Cross. Lady Bird is just trying to get by. She's not bullied or ostracized or has an eating disorder or gets pregnant. She just wants to be a little unique.
This is a bit of a tangent, a tiny detail, but they didn't try to hide the acne on Ronan's cheeks. This is not to judge her: it's very mild and I myself had horrible acne from seventh to tenth grade. But the forces that be (except for those in charge of the main poster) let the star have the small imperfections that make her human. That was such a nice touch in a film full of nice touches. The small, masterly strokes comprise the masterwork. The film's cinematographer, Sam Levy, said Gerwig wanted Lady Bird to look like a memory. And from an editing standpoint (shoutout to editor , it was certainly successful. Coming-of-age tropes that have been beat to death, a pulpy, thin film of an overused plot device, are skimmed over. School dances are shown in brief, sex scenes are not romanticized, her eighteenth birthday consists of her father (Tracy Letts) offering her a cupcake, and then eating said cupcake.
Just two years older than myself, Ms. Ronan has proven herself an extraordinary actress, a chameleon capable of camouflaging into any young woman she so desires. Losing her thick Irish accent is enough, but creating a believable teenage girl that we all haven't seen a thousand times is another. Metcalf is fairly worthy of the heaps of praise as her mother. The Academy loves a struggling mother, whether it's Mo'Nique's abusive matriarch in Precious, Anne Hathaway's prostitute with a heart of gold in Les Miz, or Patricia Arquette's devoted divorcée in Boyhood. Marion's relationship with Lady Bird is genuine, captured perfectly in that scene in the trailers where they're bickering but then instantly adore the dress she picks out. Expect Metcalf to shout out a lot of mothers on her awards tour. And you should call yours and tell her you love her. Yes you!
Timothée Chalamet, who's been stunning critics with his role in other Oscar-contender Call Me by Your Name nailed the role of a philosophical too-good-for-school type (although I hope he doesn't get type casted as the moody boy that Dane DeHaan's sad eyes won't let him escape). I've gone to college with a handful of these guys. Beanie Feldstein is a sweet surprise, Tracy Letts nails a compassionate, if underwritten father role. But Gerwig gets a pass; the film world could do with some more strong female characters in the forefront, and not just considering the past few months. Just like seeing her star in Greenberg and Frances Ha, Gerwig is a breath of fresh air behind the camera and on the page. She's orchestrated one of the smartest movies of the year, and one of the all-time best high school movies.
Rating: 3.5/4 stars
This is a bit of a tangent, a tiny detail, but they didn't try to hide the acne on Ronan's cheeks. This is not to judge her: it's very mild and I myself had horrible acne from seventh to tenth grade. But the forces that be (except for those in charge of the main poster) let the star have the small imperfections that make her human. That was such a nice touch in a film full of nice touches. The small, masterly strokes comprise the masterwork. The film's cinematographer, Sam Levy, said Gerwig wanted Lady Bird to look like a memory. And from an editing standpoint (shoutout to editor , it was certainly successful. Coming-of-age tropes that have been beat to death, a pulpy, thin film of an overused plot device, are skimmed over. School dances are shown in brief, sex scenes are not romanticized, her eighteenth birthday consists of her father (Tracy Letts) offering her a cupcake, and then eating said cupcake.
Just two years older than myself, Ms. Ronan has proven herself an extraordinary actress, a chameleon capable of camouflaging into any young woman she so desires. Losing her thick Irish accent is enough, but creating a believable teenage girl that we all haven't seen a thousand times is another. Metcalf is fairly worthy of the heaps of praise as her mother. The Academy loves a struggling mother, whether it's Mo'Nique's abusive matriarch in Precious, Anne Hathaway's prostitute with a heart of gold in Les Miz, or Patricia Arquette's devoted divorcée in Boyhood. Marion's relationship with Lady Bird is genuine, captured perfectly in that scene in the trailers where they're bickering but then instantly adore the dress she picks out. Expect Metcalf to shout out a lot of mothers on her awards tour. And you should call yours and tell her you love her. Yes you!
Timothée Chalamet, who's been stunning critics with his role in other Oscar-contender Call Me by Your Name nailed the role of a philosophical too-good-for-school type (although I hope he doesn't get type casted as the moody boy that Dane DeHaan's sad eyes won't let him escape). I've gone to college with a handful of these guys. Beanie Feldstein is a sweet surprise, Tracy Letts nails a compassionate, if underwritten father role. But Gerwig gets a pass; the film world could do with some more strong female characters in the forefront, and not just considering the past few months. Just like seeing her star in Greenberg and Frances Ha, Gerwig is a breath of fresh air behind the camera and on the page. She's orchestrated one of the smartest movies of the year, and one of the all-time best high school movies.
Rating: 3.5/4 stars
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