Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig’s solo directorial debut, has already garnered Best Picture buzz and received a standing ovation at its Toronto premiere. Gerwig waited 10 years before she decided to take on this project and it looks like her decade long preparation will not go unrewarded.
“Once I accumulated about 10 years, I thought it was enough.” Greta Gerwig told Deadline last month in regards to the journey that led her to Lady Bird. “I wrote the script to Lady Bird and it really came out of a desire to make a project about home.”
I’ve been following this project closely for quite some time. Greta is one of the few contemporary performers that continues to make interesting choices, both as an actor and writer. The industry tends to dictate a limited window for an artist to show off their acting chops and challenge themselves before they’re gobbled up by the franchise machine. I’m compelled by Gerwig's conviction despite my own personal aversion to her mumblecore roots. She’s co-written two of my favorite films of recent memory in Frances Ha and 20th Century Women, so I can’t say that I’m surprised by the early acclaim Lady Bird is drumming up ahead of its Nov. 3 release.
The trailer resonated with me in a way these things simply don’t anymore. Most studios seem to think “Indie Film” amounts to little more than angst and xylophones. The answer to blockbuster schlock is more meaningful than just aesthetics. With the recent release of The Florida Project and Lady Bird, A24 continues in their persistence to ensure 2017 is the year of “Human stories.”
Lady Bird , loosely based on Gerwig’s own adolescence, follows the turbulent relationship between a mother trying to maintain stability after her husband loses his job and her willful teenage daughter trying to process newfangled adulthood; the film stars Laurie Metcalf and Saoirse Ronan respectively.
“Home is something you don’t really understand while you’re there. It’s something you understand while leaving.” According to Gerwig, that’s the driving sentiment of the film. She goes on to say that nothing is literally true in the picture, but she aimed to craft a story that was representative of many people’s stores and experiences including her own.
Lady Bird hits in theaters on Nov. 3.
