Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird could reach new heights at the Academy Awards tonight, where it is nominated for five Oscar Awards.
It’s the year for Lady Bird, it’s the year for Gerwig and it’s the year for the woman.
Lady Bird’s nominations include Best Picture, Best Actress for Saorise Ronan, Best Supporting Actress for Laurie Metcalf, Best Original Screenplay for Greta Gerwig and Best Director for Greta Gerwig.
Despite the Times Up boycott to end sexual harassment, with special attention being paid to the women of Hollywood, Gerwig was snubbed the Best Director nomination at the Golden Globes, yet won Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture.
It’s time for the Academy to show their support for women, and support the fantastic coming-of-age woman-centred film that is Lady Bird.
Set in 2002 Sacramento, California, the film opens with a quote from Sacramento-born writer Joan Didion, “It kills me when people talk about California hedonism. Anybody who talks about California hedonism has never spent a Christmas in Sacramento.”
Teenager Christine McPherson, naming herself “Lady Bird,” wants to break free from her home and everything that makes her – her. Like the character, those who fall in love with the movie come to understand that no matter where you go in life, where you come from will always be a big part of you.
From her red-dyed hair to her thrift shop dresses, Irish actress Saorise Ronan has you fooled as Lady Bird, even sometimes siding with her when she is at fault. Testing her family, friends, catholic school, boys, sex and college applications, Lady Bird comes to find her wings.
Loosely based on Gerwig’s teenage years, she knows adolescence is messy and doesn’t try to hide that from you. The spotlight on Lady Bird at the direction of Gerwig will inspire and open the door for other female directors to come.
Gerwig released this past week on the A24 podcast that she is already making plans to write three more films based in her beloved Sacramento.
The relationship between Lady Bird and her mother (Laurie Metcalf) features some of the best moments on screen that justify why they were nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. The rebellious teen quarrelling her mother draws the viewer in to the hot California heat.
Lady Bird is different than other films spotlighting the teenage girl experience. While she wants the “like-the-movies” romance – like most girls, that isn’t what she gets. Unexpected events shape Lady Bird in her transition from who she is to who she becomes.
The film will make you laugh and cry. It will make you feel like you just went through something.
Recent Comments