Lady Bird
I watched this back when I was 16, last February 2020, after I caught Gerwig’s Little Women in Shangrila! Didn’t really understand the acclaim but I still thought it was great stuff, was just unable to relate at all.
Had a few rewatches since then and it just wasn’t doing it for me. But my god this rewatch was when I started to finally recognize the subtle brilliance of Lady Bird. The screenplay, definitely ordinary and naturalistic, is wonderfully snarky, most especially during Lady Bird’s tantrum over Berkeley. “Oh, I’m sure they have no idea, Miguel,” stands out particularly because I thought it was clever commentary on the presumed prioritization of minorities in the admissions of prestigious universities.
Performances are fineeeeeeeee. Lucas Hedges is my favorite. Saoirse Ronan is relatable and repulsive at the same time. Laurie Metcalf is amazing, who shines best.
The shots of Sacramento were what made me cry though. It made me think about my life and how I, someone who grew up during the rise of social media, could fully relate to the dilemmas of these characters. Through these shots, my life felt miniscule, will feel miniscule, when you compare my life to the lives of the people who have started living before me and before theirs.
Really loved this movie. I could ramble on and on and on but this really is best watched when you’ve actually started living life. I crushed on Timothee’s quirky character but ever since I’ve felt for real boys, I just found him annoying now. Shut up, shut up, Lady Bird said to stop him from going on a rant about how many Iraq civilians have died since 9/11. Thank you, Lady Bird.
Thank you for this movie, Greta Gerwig. Your directorial debut made me cry :( that ending hit harder than I expected. Life really is best experienced when you actually go out there :( will give this a rewatch in the summer!