Part of Teenage Wasteland
High school student Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) has a strained relationship with her loving yet stringent mother (Laurie Metcalf), a full time nurse working tirelessly to support her family after her husband (Tracy Letts) is let go from his job. Set in Sacramento during a shift in the nation’s economic landscape, LADY BIRD is an affecting look at the relationships that shape us, the beliefs that define us, and the unmatched beauty of a place called home. With her film nominated in five categories at the 90th Academy Awards, director Greta Gerwig revealed herself to be a bold new cinematic voice with her directorial debut — excavating both the humor and pathos in the turbulent bond between a mother and her teenage daughter.
“In her first solo writing and directing effort, the hard-working indie film actress Greta Gerwig proves that she is her own muse. She takes the well-worn coming-of-age-dramedy format and fashions something fresh, funny, and artful from its familiar tropes. Also delivering the goods is a knockout cast of accomplished veterans and relative newcomers.” —Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle “As brilliantly rendered as the film is…it’s not what Gerwig recreates with LADY BIRD but how she recreates it that truly makes the film such a marvel and a delight…. Gerwig cares about her characters enough to treat them with respect when they deserve it and to kindly skewer them when they deserve that. With grace, compassion, humor, and the occasional wincing wink to the somewhat myopic excesses of youth, the filmmaker has crafted a thrilling love letter to girls, and to growing up.” —Sarah Kurchak, Consequence “There are tons of movies about coming of age in the suburbs, but few are as astute as LADY BIRD when it comes to class. Even so, the movie — set in Sacramento circa 2002 — is more universal than it is insular.” —Stephanie Zacharek, TIME Magazine
