Dir. Greta Gerwig (2017)
Rated R Spoilers, probably (After writing this review 2 times and accidentally deleting BOTH, this is my third try. Strap in and please ignore my poor sentence structure. Thank you.) Lady Bird is a movie that follows Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, a senior in a Catholic girl's high school in Sacramento, California. This movie covers a multitude of conflicts and emotions that Christine goes through as she is navigating young-adulthood, like applying for college, conflict with parents, trying new things and trying to own her identity in an unaccepting environment. It also has some great relatable Catholic school moments. By the end of the film, the viewer watches Lady Bird transform emotionally as she has just began figuring out how to figure out life. It is a really special and moving film. I loved loved LOVED this movie. It was amazing. (I think I call too many movies 'amazing' on here, and I don't want that to discredit this one, because it is really amazing. I think I'm too nice to movies on here and also in need of a wider vocabulary when it comes to reviewing movies but I'm learning OK?) But yeah, this was an incredible movie. I know I only just saw it, but it is really special to me. I think because I was able to relate to so much of it. I love coming of age movies and movies about teenagers and high school, but I feel like they always depict a perfect non-realistic life that these teenagers live in. If they're not perfect, they're trying too hard to be inspirational and aesthetically pleasing and quirky (I'm thinking Perks of Being a Wallflower). I always watched these kinds of movies and wished my life was like the teenagers in them. This movie is different, because you're not looking at Lady Bird's life through rose colored glasses. You watched Christine deal with so many conflicts in her life, like trying to go to college in New York when her parents can barely afford for her to go to college in state. She wants to be a sophisticated east coaster with real culture, and she acts ashamed of where she is from (she constantly calls where she lives 'the wrong side of the tracks'), causing significant conflict with her mom, because she feels as if Lady Bird isn't grateful for everything has done for her. Lady Bird feels like her mom hates who she is and who she wants to be, which secretly hurts her feelings but she showcases that in the form of resentment. The movie covers feelings and problems that pretty much every teenager goes through, and feelings that any adult can remember feeling. It really moved me because it was like watching real aspects of my life but translated in a beautiful way that only a movie can accomplish. Usually when I watch coming of age movies, it's like I'm looking in on the story because young people are portrayed in such a non-realistic way. This one was different. I think this movie is also accessible to adults, a group of people whom I usually think are turned off by coming of age movies. Neither of my parents particularly like this genre, so that's what I think, anyways. My dad, who saw it with me, liked it a lot and it made him think. Adults are able to relate to Lady Bird too, because this movie takes them back to when they were Christine's age and what it was like to be that age. It shows flaws and imperfections and angry and sad feelings, but it doesn't try to make Christine look like the teenage 'hero' who has everything figured out. The lines in this movie were brilliant, but they also seemed like things my actual friends and classmates would say. They weren't these large, inspirational rants that take place in movies about high school that no one actually says, they were candid pieces of dialogue that still were really great. My favorite lines happen in a conversation between Christine and her school principal, who is a nun (that's not really relevant, just thought you should know), as they are going over her college essay. The principal says "it's clear how much you love Sacramento," to which Christine says "I guess I just pay attention." the principal then says, "Don't you think they're the same thing?" There are a bunch of lines like this and so many hilarious moments that I wish I could include but won't, partly because you just have to see it for yourself and also because this would be so long and just a rant rather than a review. But yeah, the dialogue is so smart and funny. The acting is incredible too. Every actor, no matter how small the part, really knocks it out of the park. In short, this movie is really special. I think I said that already but whatever. I loved it. I loved how I was able to relate to it and understand a little of what Christine went though. There were so many beautiful scenes and lines and moments. Maybe I'm hyping up a movie that's been seen and done before, but I really don't think so. This movie is different, and you just have to see it for yourself.
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AuthorCasey Land Archives
January 2018
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