Behold another coming-of-age tale in the original perspective of debut director Greta Gerwig. For her tale of no-nonsense and frail journey, she perfectly casts the ultra fine Saoirse Ronan in her utterly entertaining form. So the mellow road to adulting begins in "Lady Bird," plastered with smithereens of comical pleasure.
Christening herself as "Lady Bird," Ronan marvelously carves a path towards her likeness, while exploring the stormy mother-daughter relationship. She comically fills her bag of tricks, strategically using it to bridge the gap between her and mother: an electric Laurie Metcalf. The latter's acting charisma is exemplified when she drives her daughter to the airport, drenched in tears and torn to say goodbye.
Ronan falls in and out of love, then bursts with grandiose actions then wallops urgency through her facial expressions and bodily translations. She lets audiences know how immediate feelings look like. And through unusual angles, Gerwig draws the pictures from the heart to control the flow of her film's tangy images.
The lady filmmaker demonstrates her flair in fitting the characters and the setting in a single frame without sacrificing any for another shot. It would be visually exhausting if she could not accommodate people, jolly houses, and affection in every shot necessary. Impressively, Gerwig efficiently packs lensing fluency in "Lady Bird" that all scenes are essential.
Seemingly a camera alchemist, the director stirs wondrous humor and expresses the funny in succeeding sequences with abrupt editing. Just when the audience is about to giggle, "Lady Bird" suddenly transitions to the next sequence so the delightful momentum is taken with, regardless if the story pulls into a sad turn. Gerwig illustrates that there is fun in the mellow of sunshine. Hence, there will be no excuses in laughing out the feels in this emotionally high trip.
Gerwig also manages to insert an inverted shot of Lady Bird and best friend Julie Steffans, portayed by a joyful Beanie Feldstein. Eating unconsecrated wafers, they were chortling with nothing to laugh about in an upside down still. It is Gerwig channeling the topsy-turvy conundrum of everyday.
Withal, Ronan willfully breaches bricks so she could find herself in "Lady Bird." The journey to adulting is heartfelt, yet when she gets there, it had been a comedy of errors to get the amount of melodrama right. Love will always be worth the whirlwind laughs – adults chuckle and cry whiskey just as much. "Lady Bird" is grown up to admit it already.
Director: Greta Gerwig
*Trailer © HollywoodStreams; YouTube.com
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