Lady Bird, what a strange nickname one would give to themselves. Maybe just something a rebellious teenager who hates her name, given by her parents, would do. And yes, that is her: Christine McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), who goes to a Catholic High School in Sacramento, California.
The movie illustrates an interesting relationship between Lady Bird and her mum, Marion (Laurie Metcalf). Don’t worry, it is nothing violent, nothing abusive…or maybe it is abusive, in a subtle way.
There is this one scene of Lady Bird trying on different dresses and how her mum is critical of her no matter what she puts on or how much she likes it.
“Can’t you just say I look nice?”
I believe I am not the only daughter in the world who has had situations like this, when you just need your mum to be understanding instead of pouring the brutal truth and the mean words on top of you. So if you can relate, then it is a movie that is worth a look. Although it shows many unpleasant moments of their relationship, it is not hard to see the love of this family. I suppose that is why Lady Bird is such a bold and independent character.
Saoirse Ronan’s performance is great, although it was pretty much followed the same style of acting as in Atonement.
It is a movie that explores a lot of teenagehood topics. There’s the cheesy plot of one abandoning her own friends to hang out with the ‘popular kids’ and running back to her ‘real friends’ after realising she can’t fit in.
Lady Bird does also touch upon a couple of important issues, like coming out of the closest, facing the struggle of being gay in a religious setting, the complexities of first love and the ‘first time’. These universal experiences make the film relatable to a wide audience but never take away from the focus of the mother-and-daughter relationship that defines the film.
