Lady Bird (2017)
In the midst of the sun-drenched landscape of California in 2002, a struggling family wrestles with a harsh reality. A father loses a job, a mother struggles to make ends meet, and an independent and artistic teenage daughter "Lady Bird" goes through her senior year of high school, dreaming to escape to the East Coast for college. She experiences messy relationships, unlikely friendships and everything in-between in this classic, iconic, and heartfelt coming of age story directed by yours truly, Greta Gerwig.
Lady Bird Podcast
The Lady Bird podcast is a truly philosophical work; some argue the two rather charismatic and knowledgeable hosts rival Aristole and Plato. In this episode, the plot of the film is discussed, as well as directorial choices by Greta Gerwig. Although Lady Bird is not quite the directorial debut of Greta Gerwig, it is arguably the start of her modern style of directing which some regard as "groundbreaking". Patriarchy, growing up, and free will are all topics discussed in this episode. The two minutes in runtime contain about as much knowledge as a 400 page book.
How Lighting Changes the Mood
Lady Bird is an amazing example of Greta Gerwig's creative use of lighting in her films. in her other movies like Barbie and Little Women, there is crazy use of lighting and colors to creative beautiful worlds, while Lady Bird has a more realistic grounded look. The movie looks nostalgic with a small but of film grain through natural lighting. There aren't bright studio lights shining over the scenes like in barbie, but a warm array of lights that make it feel close to home. Throughout the movie the lighting changes to support different moods, a bright sunny sky will illuminate the scene in a happy scene. This is contrasted by the dimly light moments when Lady Bird is at her worst. This use of lighting not only helps express the mood of the story, but also elevates the theme by powering the emotions of the audience.
The theme of Lady Bird is hard to talk about as it changes depending on your own experience with the movie. At its core, Lady Bird is a coming of age story of a young girl as the deals with the struggles of being a teenager in poverty in her high school years. There isn't much of a plot to follow, just her doing teenager stuff, dating boys, and fighting with her mom. Our take away from the film was that the real plot of the movie was Lady Bird searching for her identity during her senior year. She struggles to find herself amongst a crowd of people who she doesn't feel she fits in with.
Emotional Depth
Lady Bird is intended to be a very emotional movie. Not just because it is very personal to the director, being a semi-autobiographical take on Greta Gerwig's early years, but also because it is meant to relate to the audience as a whole. The movie explores themes of friendship, self-identity, and personal growth. Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf are perfectly cast and deliver nuance and emotional depth throughout their roles. Although the events of Lady Bird are as a whole something that most people could not empathize with, the similar themes will remind them of themselves at that point in their lives. Lady Bird wants to leave everything in her old life behind to go to New York. Whatever she does, it is not enough or it is too much. Gerwig perfectly captures dealing with emotion, especially when you are the only one who knows what you are going through.
