A tale about a teenage girl navigating her senior year in high school in 2002, Lady Bird is perhaps the most profound look at female relationships I've seen on screen. The always magnificent Saoirse Ronan plays Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (Christine is her given name, but Lady Bird is the name she has given herself). Like all teenage girls, she has a contentious relationship with her mother, Marion (played by a startlingly brilliant Laurie Metcalf). At school, Lady Bird's best friend is Julie (Beanie Feldstein, playing the most adorable and warm best friend you could hope for). They both attend a Catholic high school, and one of the side characters, the nun Sister Sarah Joan (Lois Smith) immediately reminded me of the nuns who ran my school when I was a child. It is so easy to mock Catholic high schools and their stereotypes, but instead, Lady Bird strives to portray both the silliness and grace in this environment. Yes, the girls might be secretly snacking on Communion wafers and complaining about skirt checks, but the nuns and priests are also kind teachers, who strive to do right by their students within the confines of a religious education.
It's hard to describe this movie any further because it would just devolve into a listing of all of my favorite scenes (which is pretty much all of them). Over the course of one year, the immature Lady Bird slowly grows up, making many mistakes along the way. There are encounters with boys (Lucas Hodges and Timothee Chalamet, playing two very different characters to represent the typical spectrum of teenage boyhood). Lucas Hodges, in particular, has a scene that is Best Supporting Actor-worthy in itself. There are the challenges with Julie, and the desire to get in with the cool kids that puts a strain on their friendship. And there is that turbulent relationship with her mother, a woman who has such a big heart, but simply does not know how to talk to her daughter without pissing her off. Their relationship will resonate with mothers and daughters everywhere - the moments when your mother just doesn't get it, the moments when you wish you could confide in her but don't, and the moments when you simply crumble and she knows exactly what to do. I will be shocked if Metcalf doesn't nab every nomination (and hopefully award) for Best Supporting Actress this year.
And of course, this brings us to Lady Bird herself, Saoirse Ronan. She is clearly writer-director Greta Gerwig's muse, and her every action and expression is reminiscent of Gerwig herself. Ronan commands the screen, making Lady Bird the most lovable weirdo I've seen in some time, and somehow, even though we led completely different lives, I still found myself relating to every moment in her life. That is a testament to Gerwig's storytelling ability. Even though the world and characters seem so specific to this time and place, the situations are universal, and you will find yourself remembering all the stupid things you did as a teenager (and continue to do now as an adult). If you're a parent, you will wholeheartedly relate. If you're a teacher, you'll understand. If you're a nun, you'll cheer at the portrayal of your fellow Sisters as something other than joyless harridans. And if you're a woman, you will rejoice at this acknowledgement of all the complex emotions and frustrations that make up your life and challenge you on a daily basis.
Greta Gerwig has stated that she wanted Lady Bird to serve as a female counterpoint to all the movies about male adolescence. She has triumphed in her endeavor. This movie is a pitch-perfect depiction of what it's like to be a teenage girl, and I promise you, even if you are reading this in some deeply conservative country or region where you would never get up to half the things that Lady Bird does, you will still understand this girl and what she's going through. I should know - I was a Hindu who went to Catholic school in the Middle East and am now an atheist in New York who still loves visiting churches. Lady Bird made me tear up at multiple moments and say "oh yes, I know what that feels like." It also helps that the use of Dave Matthews Band's "Crash into Me" was so perfect, it nearly destroyed me.
Lady Bird is a movie that sneaks up on you, starting off as a light comedy and gradually unleashing its tentacles into your heart until it has a strong grip and won't let go. I loved it and I have a feeling it will become a classic, the movie that teenage girls and adult women quietly revel in for years to come.
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