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My New Year’s Resolution this year was to watch at least one film by a female director each month, and I kicked off the year right by going to see Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird in theaters on January 1st.
I pretty much went in expecting to loathe this movie, because the preview made the heroine (Christine, who calls herself Lady Bird) look like everything I hate in a teen protagonist: bratty and self-absorbed and just generally all-around unpleasant. She jumps out of a moving car to get away from her irritating mother. Grow up!
This is one of those cases where the preview seriously misrepresents the movie. It’s not that any of those things are untrue, exactly, because Lady Bird is sometimes bratty and often shatteringly self-absorbed and she does, in fact, jump out of a moving car to get away from her mother. But when she does so, her mother is going on at considerable length about how Lady Bird is bratty and self-absorbed and she’ll never make anything of herself, so clearly jumping out of the car is an ill-considered decision but at the same time, can you blame her?
Yeah. Pretty much the reason that I changed my mind about the movie is that the way Lady Bird’s mother treats her makes most of Lady Bird’s behavior seem perfectly reasonable and justified, and sad rather than irritating. Of course she’s desperate to go to school on the East Coast! Sure, it will bring her closer to culture and blah blah blah all those other reasons that she gives, but it will also put an entire continent between her and the mother who is always undermining her!
There’s a particularly heartbreaking scene where Lady Bird’s mom has just found out that Lady Bird might be going to school on the East Coast - Lady Bird applied behind her back. And she’s standing at the sink furiously washing dishes as Lady Bird alternately defends herself, apologizes, begs her mother to speak to her, to argue with her, to shout at her even, just acknowledge her! Anything but standing there stonily clattering the dishes in the soapsuds.
Most of the reviews I read about this movie (which are generally, justifiably glowing) are much more positive about Lady Bird & her mother’s relationship than I am, so possibly I’m being unfair.
And certainly this is not the only thing in the movie or even its main emotional note. There are a lot of things here that are touching or funny or beautiful: I really enjoyed Lady Bird’s fitful attempts at romance, and her best friend Jessica. And for all that Lady Bird claims to loathe Sacramento, there are some beautiful shots of the city in here - and a lovely exchange with her teacher, about Lady Bird’s description of Sacramento in her college application essay. She describes it “so affectionately and with such care,” her teacher says.
Lady Bird is caught off guard; she has been raging against Sacramento for most of the movie. “Sure, I guess I pay attention,” she responds.
To which her teacher replies: “Don’t you think maybe they are the same thing? Love and attention?”
I pretty much went in expecting to loathe this movie, because the preview made the heroine (Christine, who calls herself Lady Bird) look like everything I hate in a teen protagonist: bratty and self-absorbed and just generally all-around unpleasant. She jumps out of a moving car to get away from her irritating mother. Grow up!
This is one of those cases where the preview seriously misrepresents the movie. It’s not that any of those things are untrue, exactly, because Lady Bird is sometimes bratty and often shatteringly self-absorbed and she does, in fact, jump out of a moving car to get away from her mother. But when she does so, her mother is going on at considerable length about how Lady Bird is bratty and self-absorbed and she’ll never make anything of herself, so clearly jumping out of the car is an ill-considered decision but at the same time, can you blame her?
Yeah. Pretty much the reason that I changed my mind about the movie is that the way Lady Bird’s mother treats her makes most of Lady Bird’s behavior seem perfectly reasonable and justified, and sad rather than irritating. Of course she’s desperate to go to school on the East Coast! Sure, it will bring her closer to culture and blah blah blah all those other reasons that she gives, but it will also put an entire continent between her and the mother who is always undermining her!
There’s a particularly heartbreaking scene where Lady Bird’s mom has just found out that Lady Bird might be going to school on the East Coast - Lady Bird applied behind her back. And she’s standing at the sink furiously washing dishes as Lady Bird alternately defends herself, apologizes, begs her mother to speak to her, to argue with her, to shout at her even, just acknowledge her! Anything but standing there stonily clattering the dishes in the soapsuds.
Most of the reviews I read about this movie (which are generally, justifiably glowing) are much more positive about Lady Bird & her mother’s relationship than I am, so possibly I’m being unfair.
And certainly this is not the only thing in the movie or even its main emotional note. There are a lot of things here that are touching or funny or beautiful: I really enjoyed Lady Bird’s fitful attempts at romance, and her best friend Jessica. And for all that Lady Bird claims to loathe Sacramento, there are some beautiful shots of the city in here - and a lovely exchange with her teacher, about Lady Bird’s description of Sacramento in her college application essay. She describes it “so affectionately and with such care,” her teacher says.
Lady Bird is caught off guard; she has been raging against Sacramento for most of the movie. “Sure, I guess I pay attention,” she responds.
To which her teacher replies: “Don’t you think maybe they are the same thing? Love and attention?”
