MAY 1, 2025 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | By Margaret Freeman
When I sat down to watch “Lady Bird,” I had zero expectations. One hour, 35 minutes later, I sobbed as the credits rolled.
“Lady Bird” director Greta Gerwig is no stranger to simultaneously heart-wrenching and heart-warming portrayals of womanhood and personal growth, having directed films such as “Little Women” (2019) and “Barbie” (2023). “Lady Bird” (2017) is no exception.
This film is a window into the tumultuous life of Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), a 17-year-old girl living in Sacramento, Calif. Throughout the movie, Lady Bird navigates boy troubles, friends and college applications. The central focus of the movie, however, is Lady Bird’s relationship with her mother, Marion McPherson (Laurie Metcalf), a nurse working incredibly hard to support her family after Lady Bird’s father loses his job. Both Lady Bird and her mother are very strong-willed, leading to a strained relationship between them.
The thing I found most beautiful about this movie was that it truly felt like a slice of life. There was no single defining event in the story. It was simply about a girl who wanted to get away from her family and life in California and all the challenges she faced in doing so. The movie depicted everyday things in Lady Bird’s life like grocery shopping with her parents, spending time with her best friend and sitting in class. The mundaneness of high school was punctuated with prom, parties and sex. All of these things were woven together with Lady Bird’s overarching feeling of being misunderstood by her mother, brother and the boys she dates.
Although I did not personally identify with all aspects of Lady Bird’s life, the emotion coursing through every scene in this movie never failed to hit home. It was such an apt depiction of what it is like to be a teenager. Lady Bird is standing on the precipice of the rest of her life and is divided between focusing on the future and living the life she is in now. This created a lot of angst and fear that felt all too familiar. “Lady Bird” was a perfect representation of what it means to be a teenager and how all the things that feel so big in high school slowly fade in the distance as you grow up.
The cinematography is another aspect that makes “Lady Bird” such a stunning movie. There are scenes with beautiful rolling hills of Sacramento, wooded neighborhoods and the bustling streets of New York City. There is also a mix of more intense scenes with yelling and fast-paced cuts, along with calmer moments and shots, focusing on the beauty of everyday life.
Not enough can be said about the acting in this movie. Ronan portrays Lady Bird in such an intense way that I could not imagine anyone else playing the part. She is aloof and moody and deeply misunderstood in a way that was so real; I couldn’t help but shed a tear. Timothée Chalamet, who plays one of Lady Bird’s love interests, Kyle, is cool, distant and the epitome of a “dirtbag.” Ronan and Chalamet had such intense chemistry which perfectly encapsulated the ups and downs of young infatuation.
All told, this is my new favorite movie. I have never seen a better representation of teenage life, and I implore everyone to watch this heart-wrenching, intense, simple and beautiful take on life, love and coming of age.