(Oscar) Baity Bird
Welcome to Sacramento, where young girls try to navigate high school, a social life and the verbal daggers from their mothers! Lady Bird, a mollified tale that follows Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson played by Soairse Ronan as she sets her sights on College while dodging her mother and social villians in a funky little town in California.
I turned off the lights, I got my chocolate chip cookies because I don’t like popcorn, I sat down and paid full price for a wonderful evening filled with joy, heartache, trial and change. I was robbed. The film was underwhelming and sadly lived greatly below its potential. With all the makings of an emotionally charged frenzy of mother-daughter fights, trapped individuals that lead to an explosion and a voyaging through High School all of which have the makings for an interesting film but alas, disappointment.
Lady Bird does stand out with its peculiar, even tempered mood that smoothly picks us up and floats us through to the movie’s end. The films thematic presence is strong, promoting its gender diverse cast and crew, making a huge statement, fortifying the diversity and ethnic revolution that is changing the film industry for the better. I am excited to see what film will look like in 20 years.
The writing is stingy. It pokes at the feelings with needles shown by the back and forth between Lady Bird and her mother, Marion McPherson, played by Laurie Metcalf. The dialogue is filled with flavor and glint and it’s entertaining like a verbal heavyweight fight; not only speaking to the relationship between Lady Bird and Marion, but as well as Lady Bird and B.F.F., Julie Steffans, played by Beanie Feldstein. But that seemed to be it. Sharp dialogue, but the connection points between viewer and character never met. In a general sense, the audience is able to relate because we were young and awkward once with the desire to escape, or chase something, yet, witty and epigrammatic dialogue can’t substitute for emotional movement. Combining that with a weak lead character goal/ motivation, it has the formula for a “Michaelangelo”, in regards to his painting “The Creation of Adam”, where Adam, the audience and God, the character almost connect but never do.
The acting was beautiful with Ronan leading and Metcalf supporting. There are multiple scenes where the two display real and ardent performances. Near the middle of the film, the duo have a stand-off in the middle of the living room, letting the insults fly about, cutting and slashing. Within these verbal war zones lies one of the beauties of acting. The connective groove actors find during the shaping and crafting of the characters and the individual scenes. It’s a special sight. They glided back and forth like a dance from the top of the scene to the end. It was glorious.
Yet each time there was a poignant scene that was meant to move the audience, it seemed to end without accomplishing its goal. There was a scene where Lady Bird and Marion were arguing, and within it, at that particular point in the film, a legitimate feeling of “these two characters might actually hate each other” ruled my thoughts. Kudos to Ronan and Metcalf for their extraordinarily believable performances. They were remarkable but those scenes never took me over the edge emotionally. My heart never poured out sympathy for Lady Bird and her situation. I never really felt a sense of urgency or entrapment from her though she spoke on these things heavily. It more so seemed she was making the best of a bad situation which is great but doesn’t usually supply the strongest conflict.
Hollywood absolutely adores Indy, Slice of Life pieces (Manchester by the Sea) which I can definitely see this film finding its success in. I believe these elements give “Lady Bird’s” success its buoyancy but the weak direction for the lead character and the lack of strong emotional movement abases the story, keeping it from reaching serious depth.
Overall, Lady bird is a pleasant watch. It remains disappointing because of the expectation of being moved by powerful dialogue and profound action yet the film does grab your attention and carries you like a gentle magic carpet. So lay back, no need for a seatbelt and enjoy a calm yet tantalizing ride.
Recap
+Great Acting
+Interesting Themes
-Weak Plot
-Weak Motivation
[3/5]
Edited by Robert Olarte