Yazz on Film: Lady Bird (2017)
Happy International Women's Day! Here is my full review of Lady Bird.
first of all: - this is not spoiler free - if you’ve read my other lady bird reviews here then (unsurprisingly) you’ll see some sense of those in this one. - like with pretty much all my reviews, I talk about myself a fair bit haha I can't help but relate films to my own life, especially this one. I might regret sharing so much personal info at a later date, but here we are...
I’m a bit tight for money at the moment and so me deciding to go to the cinema to see a film I’ve already watched a bunch of times initially seemed kinda dumb; however, seeing this on the big screen was a whole new experience. It felt like I was watching an entirely different film at times; I noticed a lot more and it was so nice to physically be joined by friends and other audience members. (I’ve watched it on rabbit w friends a couple of times, which was lovely, but it's not the same as hearing everyone’s reactions and laughter). I went with two friends I made in my film analysis seminars last term and they were 10000% the right people to experience this with; we had a catch up, admired the place (I love you fancy cinema), watched the film and then went to a pub afterwards - initially we went to chat about the film, but just ended up getting to know each other better - which is not a bad thing.
I think my favourite scenes in the film are the car scenes; my mum and I tend to be pretty busy and don’t actually get too much time to just sit and chat when I’m home and I’d definitely say a large number of our big conversation moments have been in the car; there have been times we’ve literally just sat outside the house in the car for an hour finishing a (kinda deep) well-needed talk; the car feels like a safe place. When we go for long drives (or even short ones) it's familiar and private and our own little bubble. We’ve had drives to uni open days, trips to see our family in Holland, the drive as we moved to our new area and house - leaving what I consider to be my childhood home, times where she’s picked me up after my own trips away, times where she’s saved me, getting me when I’ve been stranded in the middle of nowhere…the car scenes in this hold similar moments. My favourite is easily the scene where Mrs McPherson picks Lady Bird up from Kyle’s; although different situations, I’ve had times like that with my mum - me crying into her shoulder, just needing her to hold me. I think that sometimes the car seems like a good place to have big conversations because it takes the pressure off; you don’t need to be opposite the other person or talking to each other’s faces; you can kind of just let your thoughts and feelings out to the world through the windscreen, there's just someone to respond and guide you. It’s hard to speak about complicated things when looking directly at someone. I think this same kind of thing also happens in the bathroom scene. We learn that Larry’s depressed, and rather than facing each other, the two speak to each other through the mirror.
I also took the mirror thing as a way of showing how similar the two are; we get Mr. McPherson saying “you both have such strong personalities”, but I think the similarities between Lady Bird and her mum have been overlooked a bit. Greta herself said she gave them matching haircuts on purpose and there are two very similar sequences in which the two drive around Sacramento, admiring their hometown alone. Christine argues with Danny saying “you can’t be scary and warm”, but I think she could also be perceived that way at times. Later on, in this same scene, Danny begs her not to tell anyone about his secret; immediately she goes from being potentially ‘scary’ to warm - she lets him crumble and sob into her shoulder, comforting him. This is immediately followed by Father Leviatch speaking to Marion, begging, her too, not to share his issue. The warmth of Marion, in particular, is shown through her selflessness; despite struggling to afford her own shopping, she buys a gift for her friend’s baby, she works a double shift and misses her daughter going to prom, she stays up at night altering Lady Bird’s dress for an event she doesn’t even want her to attend. Though my mum and I very rarely argue, there’s so much of our relationship and that same selflessness that I see in this film.
Although I don’t think the cinematography is particularly striking, it is really lovely and well thought out. Also, in terms of colouring, there seems to be lots of red/gold, as though mimicking film photos and adding a sense of warmth and nostalgia to the film. At times it feels like I’m watching old home movies; we get static shots of Christmas day and opening gifts, we see Thanksgiving and New Years Eve. Although it may not be explicitly autobiographical, there’s such a level of personality to the film. As someone who journals - not often enough mind you - that’s what it feels like. We see Lady Bird on the cusp of ‘adulthood’; milestones in her life are presented - first kisses, sending off college applications, prom… - as well as little everyday scenarios - the breakfast table, sitting in class… if someone were to make a film based on my journal, I’m guessing it would be fairly similar; this film just feels so real. There’s the awkward attempts at flirting, discussions on masturbation, screams of happiness and adrenaline. One scene where the cinematography (surprisingly maybe) really got to me was when Christine was begging her mum to speak to her. There’s a slow zoom and it makes me feel almost suffocated and trapped every time I see it; it feels like the kind of thing you’d get in a horror film. I think that's the moment where, as an audience member, it hits you that this is the thing to break her mum’s heart. A big part of the film - to me - is about attention vs love; by ignoring Lady Bird, Marion makes her feel as though she’s lost her mother’s love.
Another one of my favourite aspects of the film is lady bird’s room; probably because it reminds me of my own. I’m the kind of person that needs to have my space feel like My Own Space. The first thing I did when I moved into my uni room was decorate the walls; no bed sheets, no unpacking clothes, no food shopping, just decorating. Back home I have a big canvas with random knick knacks I’ve found over the years and stuck them on; it’s like a journal in its own sense I guess. Lady Bird’s room clearly holds years of memories. she’s got signs she’s clearly pinched from random antics - restroom logos, no trespassing warnings. she writes her crushes names on her wall as if she’d forget them otherwise, it’s like she wants to own them. as a Rushmore lover, the mini poster of Wes’ film caught my eye the first time I watched it. whether Greta did this just to highlight the late nineties, early noughties period or whether she was making a comment on Lady Bird's taste is interesting to me. if you haven’t seen Rushmore I’d recommend it, it’s brilliant and hilarious. I can definitely see similar characteristics between Max and Christine, both seem a little lost but also so sure of themselves at the same time; neither of them has one thing in particular that they excel in at school, other than trying out lots of different things. one thing I noticed for the first time tonight was that in the ‘first one to cry wins’ scene, Lady Bird is actually close to tears; the fact that most of the students closed their eyes and didn’t get very far, whilst Christine just seems to stare and get teary-eyed says a lot and makes me wonder what was on her mind.
I think Lady Bird’s wardrobe also says a lot. It’s not a very common thing in film or tv to see characters repeat outfits, but in this, she wears the same, slightly torn, green jacket over and over and wears the same checkered pinafore twice. It adds verisimilitude to the film; it’s made very clear that the McPherson’s struggle financially, meaning things would be well worn and loved. This aspect is also shown through the privilege of other characters; Jenna gives her jumper away, she and Kyle have expensive cars, both larger than the McPherson’s family car. She can’t understand why Lady Bird “would even lie about [where she lived]” because she’s never had to be conscious of it.
There’s still so much I didn’t say, even with this review being a bit long! I got home around 2 hours after the film ended and looked at my phone to see a really lovely message my mum sent me randomly. Watching Lady Bird and thinking about it so much and then receiving that has made me really excited to be back home for a bit next week.