Greta Gerwig
Lady Bird

The girls were dancing, she was coming of age.

These words, absolutely out of context, which I take the liberty of borrowing from a piece by Tori Amos that is very dear to me (Seaside), can summarize the essence of this little gem from the Grewig duo (Greta, debuting behind the camera and also the screenplay author) - Ronan (Saoirse, Irish-American with the most beautiful face and eyes in the Hollywood scene, as well as a splendid young actress, constantly on the rise for many years since her unforgettable role as the young victim in The Lovely Bones). Director-actress duo that is inseparable in this case.

Lady Bird, a small but significant coming-of-age novel, which around the love-hate relationship with the less spotlighted California of Sacramento (whose children feel born from a lesser god compared to their Los Angeles or San Francisco cousins) builds, shows this path of growth of a young girl full of uncertainties and daring, hopes, embarrassment for humble origins compared to richer companions, eager for teenage rebellion, self-determination, and escape. Who prefers an idealized New York, or at least a general East Coast, where culture flourishes, and "writers live in the woods". A girl like many others, in her naivety and genuine zest for life.

Gerwig, setting the story in the palindromic 2002, a year after the turning point of modern Western and particularly American history, recalls the period without nostalgic or anti-nostalgic sentiments (“memory of refusal” to put it Fellinianly); the obvious references to 9/11 are more marginal than central, the anti-Bush sentiment is nonetheless secondary to her young alter-ego's journey, which remembers how, in the end, the war mattered relatively little compared to the torments of "real" and present life.

The love-hate relationship with the mother mirrors perfectly with that of one's territorial roots; first relationships with the opposite sex, school and relational dynamics with teachers, friends, and the rest of the family unit.

All of this is portrayed by Gerwig with great affection and sincerity toward her heroine, in a world where globalization, at the edge of the early '00s, is not a forthcoming reality but a current one.

Clearly, the film contains all those politically correct elements that appeal to the liberal Hollywood environment: homosexuality, interracial family, nonconformist youthfulness. But, as far as I'm concerned, there is no sycophancy in the reminiscing of the protagonist of Frances Ha. Lady Bird is a film that has the gift of genuineness, even though one clearly feels the influence (and it is to be expected...) of the indie USA cinema of which Greta is one of the great protagonists, starting from the films of the scene's guru Baumbach (Noah, to whom she has been both sentimentally and professionally linked for years). She herself from Sacramento (recently she mentioned she has projects for other films set in the same location), it’s evident she reflects a lot of herself in the filmic counterpart represented by Ronan. But, for those who know her films paired with Baumbach (from Greenberg onward), it won’t be hard to notice the close kinship ties with the Christine/Lady Bird present here.

With the recent, decidedly unfortunate statements against Woody Allen, within the bad current climate spawned by the bad metoo and Time’s up movements, Gerwig has not attracted much sympathy (in Hollywood it’s obviously different, given the many significant Oscar nominations). Nevertheless, it is unfair to judge a film like Lady Bird harshly because of this.

A small independent film perhaps not highly original but grasping the binomial lightness/depth typical of the best indie productions from early Anderson’s works onward. And where the presence, among the secondary characters, of the other emerging Lucas Hedges, launched precisely by Wes Anderson - of whom Baumbach is a known companion - is another distinctive sign of how one always stays within the family, within one's microcosm, after all.

Saoirse is perfect and adorable as always, she herself mentioned how happy she was to play such a "real" character, and I believe (from her past interviews), close to her own self.

Now let’s see how it will go on Oscar night, but anyway, I was not disappointed by a work that, though not extraordinary, flows very well and without pretensions.