I
was worried for a while during the first two thirds of the critical
darling Lady Bird. Everything about its story felt so cliche. High
school girls are mean, the adorable boyfriend is gay, teen girl fights
with mom, the brooding musician boy is a let down, teen sex is
disappointing, suburban life is drab and uninspiring. This vanilla story
was offset by this intensely realized relationship between Saoirse
Ronan and Laurie Metcalf. So on the one had I was transported by
watching them together but what I found them doing was so uninspiring.
But
the film finds this magical means at the end of finding some spark of
inspiration as it winds up. The whole point of the film, this average
life piece, finds a beautiful transcendence in a lovely yet quite, small
way. And it becomes a bit of a triumph.
Certainly
the strongest part of the film is its lead actors who are pitch perfect
throughout. There is no scenery chewing, no inauthenticity. Ronan and
Metcalf are just a joy to watch, even when there doesn’t appear to be
much going on for them. But that is part of the magic of writer/director
Gerwig’s script, finding the magic in the mundane and predictable.
Everything in Lady Bird felt average, felt expected, until it wasn’t,
until it was lovely. The film ends in just the right sort of pitch
perfect way that you forgive any tedium that lead to it cause it was all
necessary to get where its going.
Truly
accessible and crowdpleasing, Lady Bird is clever without being
condescending. Its comforting and familiar without being boring. It is a
charming film with two remarkable performances at its centre.
Lady Bird
Starring: Saoire Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Lucas Hedges, Lois Smith
Writer/Director: Greta Gerwig
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