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Gareth Crook

Lady Bird (2017)

Trapped in small town America, dreaming of something bigger, artistic, sophisticated and free. Popular film fodder. Why do we watch films, enjoy films? Maybe not always, but often escapism right? Lady Bird is more than escapism though, yes it’s about dreams, but striving for them, chasing them in the face of everyday challenges of the real world and low expectations fostered by others. Adolescence, navigating school, society. It’s not that Lady Bird has a bad life, she has a loving family, good friends, but families are tricky, life is tricky. This film is oddly... grounded. Almost dull, run-of-the-mill. Not a lot really happens. Saoirse Ronan, plays Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson. Why Lady Bird? Why not, she’s just looking to stand out, be different, be happy. She’s desperate to leave Sacramento, to find excitement, to have experiences. This is all familiar movie territory, but there’s perhaps a reason these themes get revisited. They connect with us. We’re all constantly coming of age, it doesn’t stop when you turn 18, 21, 30... So despite this being a teenage American girls story, like all good stories, there’s something here that’s bigger, artistic, sophisticated and free.


7/10


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