Lady Bird- Review

In such an authentic and relatable coming of age story, Lady Bird refuses to leave its audience without laughter, a gasp and perhaps even a tear or two. Directed by Greta Gerwig, it features the talents of Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf.

In 2002, Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson begins to explore the suburbs of Sacramento in which she detests. Guilted by poor financial stability, the need to be validated by those closest to her and the pressure of conforming, "Lady Bird" seeks to aim high and never once look back.

I really enjoyed the exclusive preview screening of this film, particularly because I was able to admire every little aspect of this film with such a big screen. I'll elaborate further on the importance of this film within me later. As far as the performances go, I think Saoirse Ronan was fabulous in her role of "Lady Bird." She captured the essence of teen life, the youthful and juvenile approach to authority, being denied and most importantly, her reactions to others trying to dim that little light of hope she has left for herself inside. No teenager can say they've gone through life without at least one person trying to persuade them to change or to feel that they have to in order to experience things and fit in. That being said, the role of the martyred teenage girl with self esteem issues and problems with her environment is one that anyone can play, however if not with Saoirse, the outcome of this film and the way in which the audience received this would be vastly different.

Laurie Metcalf as Marion McPherson, Lady Bird's mother, also did exceptionally well. While some might argue about the way in which she portrayed a mother, I think for the most part she achieved the behaviour of most standard mothers. Always wanting what is best for her daughter, Marion goes about doubling her long shifts and educating her daughter on how to face life experiences, challenges and the importance of always being grateful. When Laurie and Saoirse appear on screen together, it's electrifying. They balance each other and perfectly capture a typical mother/daughter relationship. You also never know if they're going to make a comedy or a drama out of their scenes together so that too, was a nice balance.

The film was an incredibly relevant and relatable viewing for me. Most aspects within it, such as attending a Catholic high school, wanting to get as far away from the town (city in my case) as possible and previously experiencing a personal turmoil of wanting to change who I am in a negative light because I was unhappy with my social standing and the way I thought I looked not only to myself, but in the eyes of others.

The only issue I had with this film that has stopped me from giving it an extra score, is that I was left horribly unsatisfied with the ending. I felt that it just wasn't the perfect opportunity to start rolling the credits. There were opportunities slightly earlier on and even for a better scenic placement or slight extension of the plot. Either way, I feel it should have ended a lot better than it did.

Lady Bird is a beautiful story that captures every aspect of multiple life experiences that are inevitably apparent at some point in every teenagers life.

Score: 9/10.