New Year’s Hit, Lady Bird, Receives Postive Reviews at Premiere Showing

by The Cowl Editor on December 9, 2017


Arts & Entertainment


Saoirse Ronan starring as Christine in the new hit film Lady Bird from director Greta Gerwig.
Photo courtesy of Merie Wallace/A24

by Elizabeth Jancsy ’18

A&E Staff

There is no better time than winter break to finally get to the movies to see this year’s blockbuster hits before the ball drops at midnight. Lady Bird crept on the movie scene,  as it was released in select theaters on Nov. 3, but is now playing everywhere and is the talk of Hollywood.

A highly trained and regarded cast makes a big impact on the screen, as viewers cannot seem to get enough of this raw and truthful telling of a modern American family. This newcomer to the list of 2017 hits comes from female director, Greta Gerwig, and follows the life of one young woman and her struggles to adulthood alongside her stubborn, loving, and passionate mother.

“What Greta Gerwig has done—and it’s by no means a small accomplishment—is to infuse one of the most convention-bound, rose-colored genres in America cinema with freshness and surprise,” said the New York Times. 

The movie follows Marion McPherson, an overworked mother, and her relationship with her teenage daughter, who is equally as quick witted and strong willed as she is. Laurie Metcalf plays the role of Marion, while Saoirse Ronan plays the role of her daughter Christine, who calls herself “Lady Bird.”

One of the break out stars in the movie, a rookie compared to her brother, Jonah Hill, is Beanie Feldstein. Feldstein pays the role of Julie Christine’s funny, theatrical, and sassy classmate of Christine.

Feldstein told Vanity Fair, “Lady Bird is the best, which everyone’s noticing, which is making me really happy. Sometimes when something is so warm and strange and small like that, you’re worried that people are not going to get how special it is. But everyone’s getting it. It’s amazing.”

Before shooting began, Gerwig took the cast back to her old hometown, giving them her journals and high school year book. The reason behind this, Gerwig told Vanity Fair, is she wanted the movie to act “like a memory.”

This could be the reason viewers everywhere are running to the theaters to see it. It’s a heartwarming tale, but one that is familiar and close to us. If one does not identity with is not Lady Bird, they find themselves in another character that was so beautifully portrayed on the screen. It is refreshing to see the relationships everyone holds in their lives portrayed in such an entertaining and moving way. Lady Bird is a must see this winter break.