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'Lady Bird', A Melancholic Film of Memory and Growth

By Kylie Sammons, March 9th, 3:38 PM

“Don’t you think that maybe they are the same thing? Love and Attention?’’

Lady Bird opens from a Joan Didion quote into a scene of Lady Bird and her mother laying eye-to-eye in the bed of a motel. As Lady Bird asks her mother; ‘Do you think I look I’m from Sacramento?’, the 2 are now awoken. A couple seconds later, Lady Bird and her mother are siting in a car, crying while listening to The Grapes Of Wrath. As an argument starts with the two of them, they both grow increasingly angry over separate deeds of the other. When Lady Bird finally gets sick of it, she opens the car door and lets herself plummet into the empty concrete road.

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Director Greta Gerwig crafted the screenplay of Lady Bird over the span of 2 years, including various working titles. While on separate press tours, Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird/Christine) met and read through the screenplay, with Ronan reading Lady Bird. At the first meeting, Ronan was cast in the title role. Lucas Hedges, Laurie Metcalf, Timothee Chalamet, and Beanie Feldstein were later added to the supporting cast.

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The capturing of the film spanned from August to October 2016, and was filmed fully on location in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and New York City. 2 months before initial release, up and coming independant production company, and debuted at Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. Before the theatrical run, TIFF and NYFF also showed screenings. At the limited release, it became the most successful female-directed limited run of a film ever, being overthrown by Gerwig’s next project, Little Women (2019).

Lady Bird was honored with nearly 200 accolades, and 84 wins. Gerwig became the 3rd Female Director to be nominated for the Best Director at the Academy Award. The film received 5 nominations at The Oscars overall, receiving no statuettes. While Ronan and Metcalf were highly honored for their performances, Ronan receiving a Golden Globe. 2017 was a notorious year for universally acclaimed pictures, such as ‘Call Me By Your Name’, ‘The Shape of Water’, ‘Dunkirk’, ‘Get Out’, and this.

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Lady Bird stands with a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the best scores of all time. This film received nothing less than what it deserved, and a superb amount of acclaim and praise.

Sources, References, and Citations

1- LADY BIRD clean shooting script (dailyscript)

2- Lady Bird Film (Wikipedia)

3- Greta Gerwig (Wikipedia)

4- List of accolades received by Lady Bird film (Wikipedia)

STRUCTURE BASIS

5- ‘Black Swan’, Ironically Perfect by Kylie Sammons

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