Lady Bird [268 points / 26 votes]
“Coming-of-age stories are a dime a dozen. So many are released on a yearly basis that it’s surprising that the words ‘coming-of-age story’ still manage to get people’s attention, no doubt because of the universality of the best of them. I’m one of those people. Many of my favorite films could at least be loosely described that way. Writer/director Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird is the best one I’ve seen in years, top of the heap just above the other best coming-of-age films of recent years (including The Spectacular Now, The Edge of Seventeen, and this year’s Call Me by Your Name).
“So what makes it so special? Admittedly, one of the main reasons I connect to it so strongly is where I live. A major theme in the film is that it’s set in Sacramento, CA, a not-quite-but-almost-big city I’ve called my home for nearly two decades. One character in the film describes the city as the ‘Midwest of California.’ That’s very true in a lot of ways - though let me tell you, there are areas of California that are way more rural and conservative than this. As a Sacramento native, Gerwig captures the feel of the city better than I could have even hoped, both its specialness and its ordinariness. Numerous locations in the film are familiar and beloved places to me, some within walking distance of where I sit now typing this. The Crest Theatre’s gorgeous marquee is briefly glimpsed, and that’s where I worked and co-managed for a decade and made dozens of friends who will last my lifetime. Not only that, but the Tower Theatre’s marquee is also shown, which is where I was actually watching the movie (that’s a surreal experience but only the second time that’s happened to me, the first being Colin Hanks’s excellent Tower Records documentary All Things Must Pass). The ‘Fabulous 40s,’ so named because it’s the neighborhood consisting of 42nd Street, 43rd Street, etc…, is a wealthy area of town where many cruise by on Christmas Eve because they go all-out with decorations. I got my Halloween costume the year before last at Thrift Town. Gunther’s Ice Cream is a must.
“While Sacramento has its shortcomings and it’s understandable why the teenage Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) is not crazy about it being her hometown (most teens are not pleased with their own respective hometowns), anyone who walks away from this film thinking that part of the film’s message is that Sacramento sucks are mistaken. This film radiates love for Sacramento in a way that only the work of a native - and a truly talented filmmaker - could.
“I don’t mean to talk your ear off about my (mostly) beloved hometown, for now and for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, Lady Bird has much more going for it. As compelling as Ronan is as the protagonist, so recognizably human and so very teenage, part of the film’s power comes from its wealth of interesting supporting characters. Laurie Metcalf is so brilliant as her mother, Marion, and the bond between mother and daughter here is so realistic it’s painful and beautiful all at once, but there’s also Tracy Letts as her wry and forlorn father, Lois Smith as a nun with a memorable sense of humor, Lucas Hedges and Timotheé Chalamet as two of her boyfriends that turn out to not be right for very different reasons, the wonderfully named Beanie Feldstein as her best friend, Jordan Rodrigues and Marielle Scott as her goth adopted brother and his girlfriend. Perhaps best of all, though, is the great character actor Stephen Henderson as a priest and drama teacher with a great sadness not far beneath his friendly surface, the source of which we never discover. Henderson packs such a depth of feeling into what couldn’t be more than a few minutes of screen time that it’s honestly breathtaking.
“There are so many things I love about Lady Bird (its setting, its characters, its writing and direction, its salute to both the joys and follies of youth, its recognition of both the best and worst traits in all of its many characters) that I’m not sure how to end this other than to say that I couldn’t be happier that it’s become a surprise hit, and not just in Sacramento - where I believe it will continue playing for quite a long time.” ~ Jason Alley
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