Some people may hate me for saying this but I think this is a perfect movie. It’s a perfectly paced nostalgic slice of life / coming of age film. Maybe I only say this because I’m living Lady Bird’s life right now (or maybe I’m just blinded by my love for Saoirse Ronan). Younger teens probably don’t quite get this movie and adults (other than mothers of teenage girls) probably think it’s boring and or stupid. This is the first time I’ve watched this movie in a year and I must say as someone whose about to move away to a big city for college, the last 20 minutes of the film really hit hard for me this time. I feel like it perfectly captured the mixed emotions of her as well as the family about leaving the place she grew up in but also following her dreams. Not to say that Sacramento to NYC isn’t a way bigger jump than from here to Chicago, but seeing that moment where Lady Bird steps out of the subway with all her luggage having no idea where to go next— that will be me in just a few short months.
Yeah, Lady Bird is annoying, though it’s typical teenage girl stuff and I do see where she comes from on a lot of stuff. And weirdly enough she looks and acts eerily similar to one of my friends and I can’t unsee it. A lot of people complain that literally every other character in this film is more interesting than Lady Bird so the movie shouldn’t have focused on her but isn’t that kind of the whole point? It’s a slice of life film about a girl who desperately wants to be unique and important. The other interesting characters are there to support her and mold her into the person she ultimately becomes. I must say the mom was the star of this movie by a mile. She reminded me of my mom in a lot of ways which also made the film weirdly nostalgic. It’s clear that when we see the mom from Lady Bird’s view, she’s this imposing control freak, but when we’re allowed to step back and see the bigger picture, we can see all of her struggles and why she is the way that she is. This perfectly sums up the teenage mindset and the revelation they have around 17/18 that their parents really did just want the best for them the whole time. Perhaps the cheesiest yet my favorite moment of the whole film is when she changes her name back to “Christine”. Once she’s out in the real world, she longs for and is finally grateful for that connection back to her mother. There’s nothing particularly extraordinary about this movie, and that’s why I love it so much. It kind of reminds me of Lost in Translation in that way. Now that I think about it those two would make for an awesome double feature. Female directors directing simple yet strong female leads really makes for something special… I hope to see more of it.
1 Comment
|
May Featured Movie QuoteBarry B. Benson: Yellow-black, yellow-black, yellow-black, yellow-black... Oh, black and yellow. Yeah, let's shake it up a little.
Yeah, I have letterboxd now
|