Review: Character-Driven 'Lady Bird' Succeeds in its Realism

Kyra Power ’19 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
With her solo directorial debut, Greta Gerwig paints a beautiful, angsty, and funny portrait of a young woman in her final year of high school. Christine McPherson, self-named Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan), does not like her life in an all-girls Catholic school located in the wealthy section of Sacramento. She constantly rebels against the system, causing fights with her mother. As she enters her senior year, her and her friend, Julie (Beanie Feldstein), decide to audition for the school’s musical. As the year progresses, Lady Bird falls awkwardly in love, navigates in and out of friendships, and, ultimately, learns to grow up.
That is what the film has that so many films are lacking: an earnestness and a biting realness. Today, so many films skip trying to be real and cut straight to a self-awareness. They assume they are cliches and, instead of trying and failing to portray something, fall back on comedic self-deprecation. With Lady Bird, each character Lady Bird encounters is somewhat of a cliche, but Gerwig does not treat them as such. High schoolers are constantly trying to make themselves into something they’re not, so why not show that. Show the cringy first kisses and self-centered fights with parents. This is what makes the story of Lady Bird so refreshing and fun.
With its technical strength, moving story and characters, Gerwig’s solo directorial debut is most definitely a success. Filled with poignant and quirky hilarity, Lady Bird is definitely worth a watch for anyone who’s gone through the awkward joys and failures of adolescence.
Overall Grade: A
Watch The Trailer:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNi_HC839Wo[/embedyt]