July Movie Pick: 'Lady Bird' – Love Equals Attention

At this point, I am such a fan of A24 studio that I will play anything that comes out from them without even thinking. I've heard here and there some stuff about Lady Bird, and I am familiar with most of the cast, which made pressing play a no-brainer. Even though I wasn't able to finish the movie in one sitting, yesterday we watched the second half and were instantly sucked back into the world of Christine. Her journey is so familiar in so many ways that I was transported back to high school two times in a row. This period of time seems far away, yet Lady Bird was able to capture the essence of most of what I was going through. Hiding identity, finding it, and evolving into your own is a path every hero has to take. During this dynamic yet slow period of our lives, we fought different battles, often with our peers and family, which you can be reminded of very well here. I know the movie is set in the early 2000s, in Sacramento, California, telling the story of a young girl, but at the same time, it seems utterly familiar.

The other day, I saw a guy on Instagram mentioning this famous quote by Anne Lamott: “A hundred years from now? All new people.” He continued explaining that in the grand scheme of the universe, we are the crew that is on planet Earth. Or like the Canadian rock band Klaatu sings in "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft," a song covered later by the Carpenters, we all are moving on a spaceship called Earth. In that sense, we are all interconnected, and it is a beautiful thing to behold. It is imperative that we cherish our crew and respect them. There is one very important scene toward the end of the movie, where the nun, played by Lois Smith (True Blood), talks to Lady Bird about how she felt love for Sacramento in her college essay. She explains that experiencing love and giving attention are basically the same thing, making the whole interaction between Christine and her family clear. This moment blew me away and shed light on a lot of my behaviors and how I portray and experience love for others.

Every cast member is doing an incredible job, but I particularly fell in love with Saoirse Ronan, who is a four-time Oscar nominee, three of which are for Best Actress, one of which is for her role in this movie, and I can see why. Now I am so interested in her that I will check out the other three movies that brought her Academy nominations. Incredible performance, well bouncing from Laurie Metcalf's portrayal of Christine's mother, Marion. From the first scene, the complex relationship between mother and daughter gives you a hint of how beautiful this movie is going to be. I particularly liked the mild supporting yet complex relationships around them, like the one they have with the father, who is struggling to find a job, or the son and his amazingly supportive girlfriend Shelly (Marielle Scott), who is a great and cool person to have in your life. Lady Bird's first boyfriend, who turned out to be gay, and how understanding Christine was about it, swearing that she never outed him. I found it funny that her ex-boyfriend, whom she promised not to out, revealed her secret about her college choice.

I also spotted Danielle McDonald and Kathryn Newton, who I also love. Timothée Chalamet is everywhere, and after seeing him play Bob Dylan in the latest movie trailer about one of my favorite musicians, 'A Complete Unknown', I am annoyed because he doesn't seem like Bob Dylan at all. Anyway, I will review that movie and the music of Bob Dylan as soon as the time comes. Here, Chalamet plays one of the most annoying motherfuckers I have ever seen. Absolute dirtbag and jerk. And he plays it way too well. With that being said, the whole cast is perfect, and A24 provided another extraordinary story to the big screen. The budget of the movie is around 10 million dollars, and with a box office of around 80 million, plus five major Oscar nominations—Best Picture, Best Director (Greta Gerwig), Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (Laurie Metcalf), and Best Original Screenplay (Greta Gerwig)—this movie cements itself as a complete success and an overall amazing time spent. Greta Gerwig, Laurie Metcalf, and Saoirse Ronan are incredibly talented.

Iliya Badev