Greta Gerwig is no stranger to mixing a celluloid cocktail of angsty humour with a twist of social realism.
In her sophomore years, the fledgling writer/director/actor was understudy to Noah Baumbach, both bringing about delightful films such as Francis Ha and Mistress America. With Lady Bird, Gerwig has spread her wings, gone solo, and showed us what a genuine talent she is.
Loosely autobiographical of Gerwig's youth, Lady Bird is a hilarious yet powerful study of mother/daughter relations. The film takes great delight in telling this coming-of-age tale in all its nit-picky detail.
Christine Lady Bird McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) is a fiercely head-strong student in her final year of high school. She is desperate to attend a college on the East Coast because that's where "culture is ... and writers live in the woods". Her naive ideals unsurprisingly lock horns with her mother Marion, who thinks she should go to an affordable college in California.