Lady Bird by Greta Gerwig

Lady Bird by Greta Gerwig

Lady Bird has been nominated for four Golden Globes, the 2018 ceremony, which is to take place in eleven days:

·         Best Motion Picture- musical or comedy

·         Best Screenplay – Greta Gerwig

·         Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role- Saoirse Ronan

·         Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Laurie Metcalf

Greta Gerwig is an exceptional film maker, screenwriter, and actress.

I have appreciated her performances in:

-          Mistress America – for which she has been one of the two screenplay writers and one of the leading actresses

-          Jackie

-          Damsels in Distress

-          To Rome with Love

-          Greenberg

Lady Bird feels a bit too strange at times, at least for this viewer.

Yes, the heroine is a teenager that is trying to find her way, to explore her sexuality and the process can be tedious and outré.

But there were passages when I for one could not connect with the main character.

Her name is actually Christine McPherson.

But she chooses to call herself Lady Bird- hence the title of the motion picture.

Laurie Metcalf portrays the mother, Marion McPherson and she is nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.

She used to be Sheldon’s mother in The Big Bang Theory.

Two actors have been present in recent, magnificent, acclaimed productions:

-          Lucas Hedges in Manchester by the Sea and

-          Timothee Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name

The latter is also nominated for a Golden Globe, but not for Lady Bird, for the leading role in the homosexual love story.

In Lady Bird, Chalamet plays a character, Kyle Scheible that is interested in Lady Bird and has a relationship with her.

In fact, he is her first sexual partner.

She thinks he had been a virgin too.

When Lady Bird finds out about the fact that Kyle had not been at his first intimate experience, she is upset…

-          I thought I was your first…

-          You will have so many sex experiences that are lame

-          How many partners did you have?

-          I don’t know…

-          What do you mean?

-          What does it matter?

-          You mean six…how many?

These are not quotes, but I hope they come close to what has been said

The relationship with the family is strange, especially with the mother…the father was more supportive …

-          Do you like me?

-          You know I love you

-          I mean you like me with this…

Again, this was an approximation of a dialogue that took place as Lady Bird was trying on some dresses for her prom.

This is a quote though:

-          Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson: I hate California, I want to go to the east coast. I want to go where culture is like, New York, or Connecticut or New Hampshire.

The film is interesting, but less effective than Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri or Loveless, also nominated for the Golden Globes 2018…