TELLURIDE – I give you a teenager. Let’s say a high school senior, maybe. Counting the days till they can leave their silly small town and go to their dream college in a city far, far away. This is a coming of age storyline that you’ve seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching. Ladies and gentleman please welcome to the stage Greta Gerwig and “Lady Bird.”
Gerwig’s solo directorial and screenwriting debut, “Lady Bird” centers on Christine (Saoirse Ronan), who has renamed herself the title in question. It’s 2002 and Lady Bird is beyond ready to get out of Sacramento and the confines of her private Catholic School education. Her hair is partially dyed pink. She rebels in the most prank-filled ways you can imagine (at one point she decorates the nuns car with “Just Married” decorations). Her mother (Laurie Metcalf) and father (Tracy Letts, you’re not allowed to say he’s fine are you?) are middle class, but she dreams of living in one of the beautiful homes on the better side of town (literally the other side of the tracks). And, again, she’ll do anything to get out of Sac Town and avoid attending the more affordable UC Davis close to home which would make Mom happiest. When the friendly mother superior (Lois Smith, always welcome) suggests she audition for the drama club musical, she grabs her best friend Julie (Beanie Feldstein, very good) and goes for it.
Much to her surprise, Julie turns out to be the major musical theater talent of the pair and gets the female lead. Lady Bird disappointingly only makes the chorus but who cares? She immediately develops a crush on the musical’s talented male lead, Danny (Lucas Hedges, gurl). One thing leads to another and they fall for each other at Homecoming (duh). Oh, did we mention the movie takes place over a complete school year? Did we also mention that Julie, a big girl, has a crush on her dreamy math teacher? A little familiar, I know. But just wait. So, Danny turns out to be gay (don’t worry, you see it coming a mile away which makes it funnier) but that’s okay. No matter how upset she is that Danny didn’t tell her about what really turned him on, Lady Bird is ready to seduce “screw the system but my family has money” bad boy Kyle (Timothée Chalamet, pitch perfect). Whether that is considered an upgrade or not is a matter of taste.
Beyond the trials and tribulations at school Lady Bird’s real drama is at home. Her mother is obsessed with reminding everyone in the family how “poor” they are and it only gets worse when her father loses his job. And going to school on the East Coast? Mom simply won’t even listen to the possibility. How could they ever afford it? (Thankfully Dad is much more sympathetic).
I know what you’re thinking though. I’m not selling you on this movie, am I? That “familiar” word, right? Well, here’s the good news. There are two things that make this movie stand apart: Metcalf and Gerwig.
Movie fans that aren’t at Telluride are at a fever pitch over the reports of incredible performances from Annette Bening (“Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool”) and Sally Hawkins (“The Shape of Water”). You better add Metcalf to the list of must-sees this fall. She gives a heartfelt turn that is, frankly, the soul of the film. She communicates a complex and loving relationship between her character and Lady Bird in the subtlest ways when you least expect it. And she’s the one that might make you cry when it matters most.
Now, the main reason “Lady Bird” is a step beyond the familiar though is Gerwig’s distinct voice. In fact, it makes you realize the aspects most people loved in her two collaborations with Noah Baumbach (“Frances Ha” and “Mistress America“) were probably more of Gerwig’s voice than her co-screenwriter. “Lady Bird” may be based on her own experiences, but every few minutes she’ll throw in line that shows a hilarious adult perspective on this point in a young woman’s life. At a minimum, “Lady Bird” informs us that Gerwig is a filmmaker that can’t be ignored, and we’re obviously dying to see what she does next.
I know. I know. What about Ronan, right? We’ll be honest. We thought the 23-year-old actress had graduated from these sorts of roles after her incredible work in “Brooklyn.” She’s very good (when isn’t she?), but you leave the theater remembering Metcalf and Gerwig’s witty lines more. And that’s not a bad thing is it? [B]
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