Grade: A-
There is an amazing amount of talent – particularly young talent – behind Lady Bird, another one of my favorite movies of the past year. Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, who was spectacular as the Irish heroine in Brooklyn, is impressively convincing as the American title character here. She shows the promise that Lindsay Lohan did in the early-mid 2000s. I hope she doesn’t end up having Lohan’s problems. 21-year-old Lucas Hedges is killing it these days. Oscar-nominated last year for Manchester By the Sea, and currently in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, he shows up here too, and is even better. His three upcoming projects have him working with Jonah Hill, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Julia Roberts. As Lady Bird’s best friend, then ex-best friend, then best friend again, Beanie Feldstein is engaging and endearing. That’s a name you should remember, and I have a feeling you will. The “old” veterans include Laurie Metcalf and Tracy Letts as LB’s parents. Letts in particular is memorable. Looking like Richard Dreyfuss, he plays one of the quietest, calmest dads in the history of movie fathers.
At the helm is 34-year-old writer/director Greta Gerwig, from Sacramento CA, where the movie is set. For a fast, breezy hour and a half, we follow teenage Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson through the ups and downs of family, friends, love, Catholic school, college applications, musical theatre rehearsals, and more in her 2002-2003 school year. I adored a scene involving the first conversation between LB and her boyfriend (played by Hedges) after the episode which was a deal-breaker for their relationship. She starts off angry, then turns compassionate, sympathetic, and accepting by the end. I will let you discover and be delighted by the reasons why when you see it. At such an efficient running time, there is no opportunity to linger on any one plot point. This is a film rich with things to love. As I get older, it bothers me less and less when a movie doesn’t have everything neatly resolved. I am beginning to care more about why what happens happens, and how it makes the characters feel.
Grade: A-
Film Reviews by Mark 
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