Lady Bird is far and away my favorite film of this year, a rousing quotidian epic that manages to be every bit as funny as impactful. I mentioned even in my review, that my own predilections, namely my affinity for podunk settings, my antipathy towards theology, and my fondness for Lady Bird’s director, Greta Gerwig, made my pen perhaps disposed to a glowing assessment of the film rather than a fair, thoughtful one. While this still very well maybe the case, it does alleviate my shame to learn that I am in the company of most critics that reviewed the picture—Lady Bird is the most positively reviewed film on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.
Lady Bird was recently named best picture by the New York Film Critics Circle, in addition to awarding Gerwig best director and lead Saoirse Ronan best actress. These accolades join the swell of others bestowed upon the film—esteemed honors like the Gotham Award and two National Board of Review awards. Equally important, the critical and even commercial success of the film goes a long way to coax the once quixotic dream of an industry rich with diverse stories and storytellers closer to the sphere of practical.
Didactic works of fiction are generally lost on me; I tend to the hold the view that there is absolutely no obligation that faces literature and art outside of resonating with their intended audience. However, there are instances wherein an artist creates a work so perfectly framed and executed, it sort of becomes meaningful, irrespective of the intention of the author. Gerwig intended to make a film about home and everything that word means. In the process, she made a film that is incredibly moving. The film doesn’t feature a love interest proper, like these kinds of movies are so inclined to, but instead supplants that dynamic with a fraught mother and daughter one. It's a welcome change of pace to see a different kind of love drive and torment our 21st century heroines.
On the overwhelmingly positive reception garnered by the film, Gerwig told Evening:
"The truth is, we put so much into it, every single person who worked on the film put so much into it. That it's being received with the love that was put into it, it's very moving for me and everyone involved.”
Let us make an effort to ensure films like Lady Bird continue to get made.
