This may be stating the obvious, but the most important thing a film can do is connect with its audience. The best ones remind us of past traumas, triumphs and loves. They make us laugh when we need it the most. A film can have the greatest actors or the wittiest script, but if it doesn’t connect emotionally what is the point?
I believe that is my problem with Lady Bird. Writer/Director Greta Gerwig’s coming of age story features great performances from Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf, and a well-written script, but I was left feeling disappointed. Gerwig brings authenticity and quirkiness to the typical coming of age story…but it’s still a typical coming of age story. In a time when unique stories of marginalized people are being told, Lady Bird frustratingly gives us more of the same.
“What If This Is The Best Version?
Christine McPherson (Ronan) is a high school senior in Sacramento of 2002. Calling herself “Lady Bird,” the artistically inclined teen dreams of living a life of “culture” in New York City (Or Connecticut or New Hampshire). She clashes with her mother Marion (Metcalf) over her future while also dealing with the mine field of her high school’s social hierarchy. In the end, she learns a lesson that her family and hometown played an important part in determining her place in the world.
Lady Bird’s strength lies in its two female leads. Ronan is great as the often infuriating Lady Bird. One moment, the character has a quirky charm and in another moment, you become furious with her. In other words, she is a real teenager. It’s a tough balance to pull off and Ronan does a great job making the character compelling, if not necessarily sympathetic.
As good as Ronan is, Laurie Metcalf just might steal the film away from her. Marion McPherson is a strong woman who has to put up with a lot from her head strong daughter. Lady Bird says some pretty terrible things to Marion throughout the film and Marion often returns fire. As sympathetic as Marion often is, she often crosses the line with her biting insults, much like her daughter. Metcalf takes what could have been a stereotypical “Angry Mom” role into a more authentic territory. She’s a real woman, a natural foil to her infuriating daughter.
The dynamic between Lady Bird and Marion gives the film its emotional core. As heated as the two become, you never get the impression that either one truly hates the other. They are both head strong people and so clashes will naturally happen. This gives their relationship some authenticity…although not completely (More on this later).
The rest of the cast is solid. While Lucas Hedges has a goofy charm as Lady Bird’s first love and fellow theater geek Danny, Timothee Chalamet brings a sleazier charm to Kyle, the “hella tight” musician that Lady Bird eventually falls for. Tracy Letts is excellent as the more relaxed parent to Lady Bird, Larry. He doesn’t have a lot to do, but his subtle and nuanced performance should be acknowledged.
Gerwig’s script is tightly written, but not perfect, with its strength lying in the well done characterizations. Lady Bird’s lines come off as awkwardly pretentious in the best way possible, portraying a teenager trying to find her way. Marion’s cynical dialogue reflects a haggard but strong woman. In general, all of the dialogue is well done, but is strongest with the two main characters.
While the script has some genuinely funny moments, especially whenever Lady Bird’s best friend Julie (Beanie Feldstein) is involved, some of the humor falls flat. Some intentionally humorous moments come off as just weird for weirdness’ sake. But that doesn’t take away from a solidly written conclusion that lets the audience determine their own meaning rather than spelling everything out.
The city of Sacramento is lovingly shot and reflects a love for the home towns we all wanted to escape from when we were younger. It doesn’t overly glamorize the city, but it makes sure that we see it for what it is. Our home towns shape us in more ways than we know.
A Disconnect
Lady Bird attempts to tell a coming of age story in a different way. And while it does succeed in some ways with its quirky main character and script, the familiarity sets in after awhile. It hits most of the same beats as other coming of age films: Girl fights with mom over future…girl learns lesson about life…girl gets what she wants in the end, but at what cost…None of that is a spoiler, we’ve seen it before.
I will be the first to defend films retelling familiar stories in new ways. Nicholas Sparks made a career out of it. But while Lady Bird brings some new wrinkles to the familiar teenage drama, it doesn’t bring enough to make it truly distinctive. And that is not the only problem.
As mentioned above, I brought up the idea of “authenticity” in the relationship between Lady Bird and Marion. Many critics have applauded the confrontational mother-daughter relationship as real and relatable. But I have heard several of my own friends and fellow critics say that they could never get away with saying such horrible things to their mothers…
Most of those friends and critics are people of color.
I believe that’s where I feel the biggest disconnect with this story. In a time when films like Call Me By Your Name, The Shape of Water, and even blockbusters like The Last Jedi are showing us the stories of the marginalized (Members of the LGBTQ community, African Americans, Asian Americans, etc), we have yet another film taking the white person’s perspective. Sacramento is one of the more diverse places in California, yet the only people of color we see in the film with sizable roles are Lady Bird’s adopted brother Miguel (Jordan Rodrigues) and his wife Shelly (Marielle Scott).
This is not about blame or calling out Gerwig. She is creating what she knows and she does a good job. This is more of a complaint about the general way films tell their stories from a limited perspective. Couple this with an overly familiar story and I see a film that disappoints me in so many ways.
Coming of Age in a Modern World
Lady Bird is not a bad film by any means. It is deserving of many of the writing and acting accolades it has received so far. But in a time when we are seeing so many unique stories from varied perspectives, the film’s familiar story and viewpoint fall somewhat flat.
SCORE: 6.5 OUT OF 10