LADY BIRD (2017) - An uncommon coming-of-age love story

Lady Bird is a 2017 comedy-drama film directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Beanie Feldstein, Lucas Hedges, and Timothée Chalamet, following the life of a girl named Christine who prefers to be called "Lady Bird" in her last year of high school.

There are loads of YA coming-of-age movies nowadays where the main character is a teenager who is inherently different in some way and learns important life lessons after falling in love with someone who is their equal or opposite. In essence, cheesy love story between two teens that helps them grow and of which four out of every five leads to at least one of them dying (think The Fault in Our Stars, If I Stay, The Space Between Us, pretty much every John Green book).

Lady Bird is a refreshing new take on the genre in which the love story that the main character grows from isn't a romantic one (in fact, she's tried and failed at doing just that), but rather a maternal one. This is a movie about the relationship between mother and daughter and the struggles they face to understand one another and come in terms with their feelings for each other.

Our lead Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (very well played by Ronan) at the beginning of the movie is the epitome of teenage rebellion. She refuses to use her given name, has dreams of "flying away" to liberal arts universities on the opposite side of the country, hates her city, and hates the Catholic school she's in. Her mother is an indomitable spirit who is the voice of reason that constantly grounds Lady Bird to realism, often to the detriment of their relationship. In any YA novel, Lady Bird would fall in love with a boy who encourages her to follow her dreams, leading her to go against her boring city, her evil and restrictive Catholic school, and her mother's wishes. In the end, her mother realizes the error of her ways (and maybe we even find out that she has a mental disorder) and lets Lady Bird do whatever she wants.

But those stories are written in the perspective of the lead, giving us a teenager who's always right and should always follow her dreams no matter what. Lady Bird, to me at least, is written in the perspective of a rational adult looking back on her irrational teenage years. Lady Bird isn't always right, and her decisions to follow her dreams and the actions that she'd taken to fulfill those dreams were largely her own and often times were not the right decisions. She doesn't have any real, meaningful romantic relationships because let's be honest teenage relationships are largely meaningless in the first place. Her city and her school aren't antagonistic towards her; she just feels that way because she's in the midst of teenage rebellion where EVERYTHING is against her. And finally, her mother isn't an obstacle overcome; she's a person with real human desires and flaws, but ultimately wants what's best for her daughter.

If I had to state a thesis for the movie, it would be the struggles people have to understand one another, and the beauty of the rare moments where they do. Lady Bird and her mom aren't opposing forces; there are several moments in the movie where we clearly see they do love, depend on, and connect with each other. They both have their own desires and flaws and sometimes these interfere with their ability to understand one another, but ultimately they grow to come in terms with this relationship, leading to one of the most subtly heartwarming endings that I've seen in a while.

A homily found in the movie's trailer probably says it best: "We're afraid that we will never escape our past, we're afraid of what the future will bring, we're afraid we won't be loved, we won't be liked, and we won't succeed." It's these fears that prevent us from understanding one another, and the moments in which we are able to overcome these fears are truly rare, but truly beautiful.

As for flaws in the movie, I'd say my biggest problem would be the lack of a focused story. This type of movie really doesn't allow for that; real life isn't a story--it's just a bunch of things that happen like a stream of consciousness. If that's not your cup of tea, you might not enjoy it that much. There are a lot of side plots and characters that don't get resolved--such as Lady Bird's first boyfriend, her dad's unemployment, and her priest's depression--but really just play into the larger theme of people's struggles to understand one another.

Final Verdict

Don't watch if you're looking for a compelling story or memorable characters. Don't watch if you're looking for a YA romantic comedy drama. Do watch if you want to see a deeply human story about the flawed, difficult, tough love between mother and daughter and their desire to find understanding and acceptance in one another.

Score: B