2017 coming-of-age dramedy
Rating: 15/20
Plot: Christine spends her senior year trying to get out of Sacramento.
There are a lot of these sorts of coming-of-age movies with awkward characters trying to find their place in the world or an identity or a way to survive. This one isn't a narrative as much as it is a bunch of fragments of this slightly-but-not-exaggeratedly-eccentric character put in chronological order. It's a little like flipping through a visual diary, and although you might not feel like you actually have a handle on Christine or Lady Bird or whatever she decides to call herself, you wind up connecting with her and really getting to know her. She's as complex as a young adult. Her problems are realistic, and it's not just a movie realism either which makes the whole thing work that much better. Very little of what happens even seems worthy of being in a movie. Mother-daughter relationship strains, job loss and financial woes, general ennui, friendship troubles, boy troubles, underwhelming youthful sex. It's all pretty mundane, but it's mundane in a remarkable way.
There are a lot of poignant moments throughout, but I was most touched by the scenes with Lady Bird played by Saoirse Ronan, a woman with a first name that can't actually be pronounced and her mother played by Laurie Metcalf. And that's odd because I'm not a daughter or a mother. Even during the moments in this movie where their relationship is at its most problematic, you can see that there's a deep love at the center of it. That's not easy to pull off without a bunch of dumb dialogue between characters that explains that. "But Dad, she gets on my nerves! I can't stand when she comes into my room without knocking!" "Oh, sweetie, you know you love your mother very much." "You're right, Dad. I really do." That sort of thing, followed by the wiping of copious tears. With Lady Bird, that mutual love is understated, subtle, and like the miniature conflicts disrupting Christine's world, it just feels very authentic.
There's no real exposition here. All you need to know about these characters' past is provided when you watch the main character intentionally tumble out of a moving vehicle and break her arm. And although there are times when a real central conflict threatens to emerge and maybe start to build up to something, there's really nothing you'd call a rising action or climax either. As far as the denouement, that's to be determined later on, probably in a sequel that will never happen. First-time director Greta Gerwig's movie is a refreshing anti-story, memory snapshots piled on memory snapshots. It's playful and it pokes, and it's just the right amount of funny and just the right amount of angst.
I subtracted a point from my rating because of Dave Matthews, a major pet peeve.
I'm trying to think of a coming-of-age movie male character who I would want to hook up with Lady Bird. If you've seen this, what match-up do you think would work?
Oh, one thing I almost forgot to mention but that was alarming to me. This movie takes place in 2002, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks are alluded to a few times. In a way, this was a period piece, and when I think about how long ago 9/11 actually was, it makes me wonder where my life has gone. Time certainly does move rapidly the older you get.
First, to answer your question on who would be a good male coming-of-age hook up to Lady Bird, here are some in no particular order:
ReplyDelete1. Rushmore's Max Fischer
2. Little Man Tate's Fred Tate
3. Boyhood's Mason
4. Into the Wild's Chris McCandless (though, that's based on a real person)
Next, I really want to praise Laurie Metcalf's performance in this. I was like you; I preferred the scenes involving the mother and daughter. They felt the most poignant and pertinent to the overall story. When she's miles away, she doesn't think about dating a gay guy, or dating the wrong guy, or even so much missing her friend. It's her family, namely her mother, that she misses. The mom is an integral player in the story of Lady Bird, and Laurie Metcalf played it so well. I felt like she was familiar to the audience. Of all the Best Supporting Actress nominees, Metcalf played the most "real" person, and I think that's not easy to do. It's so much easier to be criticized when you're playing as close to real as possible. My vote would have been for her all the way.
Finally, I really like what you said about this movie being more of a collection of "snapshots' of a teenage life rather than an arching story. I'm with you on that. I still can see how it all fits into a plot chart, though. What a great way to tell this story. For me, the climax is when she realizes that she doesn't like the boy she's chosen and the company she worked hard to keep. She does like her old friend, she does want to go to prom. The falling action is her going away to college and finding the letters from her mom. Finally, the resolution is her phoning her parents and leaving a message for her mom. It all fits after viewing it. It's like a pointillism painting where you see the dots up close, but from afar, they paint a picture.
I also wondered what you thought of the title. Why call it Lady Bird? The working title was "Mothers and Daughters" which almost works better without thinking about it. I mean, why did she choose that name for herself? I kept waiting for some realization of why THAT name was important to her over her given name. An answer never came. Then there was one line in the falling action after she's at college and at a party talking to a guy. She asks him if he believes in God. He says no. She then rattles off a line that we'll answer to made up names our parents give us, but we won't believe in an all powerful god. I think that's how the entire movie got name after the made up name she gave herself. I feel like the entire movie is Christine challenging and questioning and testing the world before her -- the world that is given to her. She challenges her mom, she challenges her socio-economical limitations, she challenges her established friends, she challenges her own comfortability, she challenges the church -- always challenging, questioning, and testing. That's what "Lady Bird" represents. What do you think the title means?
Max likes older women. Mason? I don't remember him all that well. Fred Tate? Maybe? Chris McCandless? You want to set her up with a scrawny dead guy? That doesn't seem very nice.
ReplyDeleteInteresting comparison to a pointillism painting (I DO know that art term). I think the story probably does fit into that plot outline pretty well.
The title? Well, it's her coming-of-age story. I didn't know the title was originally 'Mothers and Daughters' actually. I also have no idea why she chose that name for herself. When I was in fourth grade, I nicknamed myself Quasimodo, only I butchered the spelling of it. I insisted that all of my friends and even my teacher call me that. They went with Quasi. Why did I pick that name? No idea. I just kind of wanted to be somebody else, I guess, and Quasimodo was cool sounding.
If I had to speculate, I'd go with the obvious and say that birds represent some sort of freedom, a flight out of this small-town existence that she doesn't like.
I've actually wanted to watch this again, mostly so Jen can see it. I want her perspective although I'm not sure she'll watch anything I suggest after The Florida Project. I think looking at her character as one who challenges is accurate and will look out for that more on the next viewing.