Coming-of-age films have never been my favorite to watch, but Lady Bird is an exception. This film, while generic in its plot devices, is marked by its exceptional performances and humor throughout. The characters are what made this film so beautiful, and the design throughout was done very well.
Saoirse Ronan stars as Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, who is living in Sacramento with her extremely Catholic family. This movie is defined by the incredible performances of not only Christine, but the other members of her family and friends as well. Ronan's character was so well-rounded and developed very well. Given that this is a coming-of-age movie, that aspect is probably important. Other important roles include Christine's mother Marion, played by Laurie Metcalf. She was so critical in developing Christine as a character, because without her intense Catholic and pure influence, Christine would not have become the character that we saw in the conclusion of the film. Speaking of that, the final scene made me very emotional and just made me want to call my mom and tell her how much I love and appreciate her. This film's focus on the mother-daughter relationship is what made the performances so strong, and for that, its originality was boosted a bit for me personally.
Other aspects of this film that I enjoyed were the representation of its characters and narrativity. There were some characters in the film, such as Miguel, Christine's brother (played by Jordan Rodrigues), that were clearly out-of-the-norm for a family such as the McPhersons. Film usually has a stereotype of young Mexican men being either drug dealers or criminals of some kind, and I very much appreciate this film's ignorance of those stereotypes. The story did not have to give Miguel any kind of stereotypical border-crossing backstory in order to make him an interesting character. Characters like Miguel in the film were all intriguing in their own sense, and were portrayed excellently.
There is one main problem that I have that affects not only Lady Bird, but every film in this mostly-independent genre. Coming-of-age films tend to run the same style over and over again. There is a central character with something quirky about them that makes them stand out in the crowd. They live a relatively normal life, but try to be one-of-a-kind, even if it means fighting your friends and family. I guess this is the reason why this genre is so popular is because audiences can relate to them more than any other film in theaters. This is also why the genre seems to be mostly independent, because they never gross as much as the newest superhero blockbuster. My problem with all of this is that coming-of-age films all tend to be the same in the sense that they are written with an intention to squeeze out some "relatable" quotes that can be found in a teenager's Tumblr feed. The stories themselves never really have any particularly interesting parts, other than that they document this character's life over maybe a year or so. The endings of the films are always left untold and the characters may have progressed only a little within the film. All films within this genre, like The Perks of Being a Wallflower or The Edge of Seventeen, have excellent performances and interesting characters in them, but they usually only succeed at one thing: making the audience cry. Which Lady Bird did very well, I must add.
In conclusion, Lady Bird is your typical coming-of-age film with not much to add in the area of interesting plot or story. While Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf were great in their roles, there is not much that brings me to want to see it again. Unless, of course, I forget to call my mom every once in a while and I want to guilt trip myself into doing so.
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