Lady Bird

 

(US, 2017) Written and directed by Greta Gerwig. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf,
Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet.

Lady Bird is a pleasing antidote to the poisonous misogyny that Hollywood has been offering up, both behind closed doors and on the screen. It is the first film solely written and directed by actor Greta Gerwig, and it lays out her non-exploitative vision of a teenage girl (Saoirse Ronan, star of Brooklyn) in her last year of high school. Set in Sacramento, it follows Lady Bird (as she has renamed herself) as she stresses over applying to college, argues with her mother (Laurie Metcalf), and falls in love with a gorgeous if not altogether great guy (Timothée Chalamet). Funny, smart, not always nice, but a real human being with dreams of her own, the character of Lady Bird is a fresh new addition to American cinema. 94 min
“If you pay the right kind of attention to Lady Bird, you will almost certainly love it. It’s hard not to.” A.O. Scott, New York Times.