An American coming-of-age story simply told and yet if captures the audience like never before. Greta Gerwig's protagonist Lady Bird belongs to a middle class American family that is struggling to keep afloat financially. While her parents are trying to make ends meet, Lady Bird is on a mission to find her individuality. She does this in very bold ways even as she acknowledges and embraces the vulnerability she feels every step of the way. We watch her fail and fall, but she manages to come out of it somehow, not always unscathed, but always wiser. Lady Bird, a name she has given herself, is committed to finding a better life despite her menial roots and her ordinary family. She fights to be different from everything that she considers commonplace, and that includes her mother and her brother. Never afraid to take risks, Lady Bird often lies to get herself a better deal in life and sometimes gets caught in the process. However, she is undeterred in her pursuit of identity, one that she hasn't quite figured out as yet.
Lady Bird is a simple tale, told simply, about the simple things in life that strengthen us and bring meaning to our lives. That 'love' really manifests itself in the 'attention' one gets or gives to another person, is such a simple learning; yet, it is a learning that evades most of us and goes unrecognized in most relationships.
How can a story be so 'simple' and manage to capture you in so many ways? How can a character be so vulnerable and so bold at the same time? How can life be both bitter and sweet at the same time? The movie Lady Bird shows us just how.
