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Lady Bird

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Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird. (Universal Pictures)
Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird. (Universal Pictures)

MOVIE:

Lady Bird

OUR RATING:

4/5 Stars

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:

The film tracks the life and experiences of a 17-year-old girl in her final year of school as she struggles with tackling her present and future goals while caught up in a stormy relationship with her strong-willed mother. 

WHAT WE THOUGHT:

For many young girls, coming of age means a road dotted with obstacles often born from insecurities. 

Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) was raised in Sacramento, California – a place she both loathes and loves. (One of the many dichotomies in this film)

Though she is a very artistic, outspoken teen who christened herself with a theatrical name like "Lady Bird", she is strikingly relatable.  

She is a young women navigating her way through life, the only way she knows how. She isn’t perfect, and desperately tries to become the best version of herself. The version she wants to birth out of both her past and present experiences, while simultaneously looking to a happy future she envisions for herself. This journey leads her to clash with and have a tumultuous, yet always deeply loving relationship between her and her mother, Marion (Laurie Metcalf).

At a point in the film one of the characters, Danny (Lucas Hedges) describes “Lady Bird’s” mom, Marion, as both ‘warm and kind of scary’. And that’s what this 5-time nominated Academy Award film directed by Greta Gerwig is, contrasting. This much-anticipated film is a love letter to uncertainy. 

Both raw and comforting, it shows the ups and downs of a time that is so unsure, even unsafe at times; and dissects how relationships are formed and sustained while put in pressure-filled situations. 

For some it is all about the journey, whereas for others it is the destination that brings fulfilment. "Lady Bird" actively goes after shaping herself in all the decisions she makes without disregarding the sacrifices her family and especially her mother has made for her, her entire life. 

In the end the best version of you, whether it is created now or later, will always be influenced by others’ opinion of what that version should be at any given time of your existence. Leaving only you, who needs to judge and be content with the life you are leading. 

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:



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