Lady Bird: So Relatable

Lady Bird earned five Oscar nominations in 2018, and when I say earned, I mean earned. I’d also say it was robbed of wins, but that would begrudge the winners. Lady Bird operates on many levels that can speak to just about anyone watching. 

For myself, I can relate to the mother’s character, Marion McPherson (Laurie Metcalf). When my kids were growing up, I was so focused on their welfare and future that I sometimes forgot when they just needed a hug. Luckily, all three of my kids turned out great in spite of me.

I can also relate to the main character, Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), attending Catholic school, not quite fitting in, speaking out of turn, shocking the nuns and well-meaning guest speakers. Also, that part about living on the wrong side of the tracks. Like Lady Bird, I thought I lived in the hood, but now I can see that unlike so many, I was so fortunate.

Oh, and there’s the subject of boys. What girl hasn’t believed that a guy’s sincerity was on par with her own? I remember my eighth-grade “boyfriend” who showed my love letter to his friends for a laugh. Ha! Well, the laugh is on him, because he later freebased in a phone booth and made the local news with his inferno. Worry not. He survived.

Lady Bird also hates her hometown of Sacramento, as I used to hate my own. I only saw the negatives, mainly the winter weather, but over time, I began to realize the virtues of northwest Pennsylvania, which is a great place to raise kids. Also, I can get from one side of town to the other in under 30 minutes. I can wear my slippers in the car when dropping my husband off at the airport, because it’s so close, but the planes aren’t so loud that they disturb our peace. And the three major cities that surround us provide whatever we can’t get here. Finally, Lady Bird wants to escape east to college and I wanted more than anything to go west, but I’m glad I dropped my anchor in northwest Pennsylvania.

So, let’s revisit the mother/daughter relationship. Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird’s writer/director says it forms the central love story of the movie. These two clearly adore each other, but they have a very difficult time getting past insults and hurts to let each other know how important they are to each other. If only they could see what we see.

Sometimes, as mothers, we feel that if we let our guard down and show our softer side, our kids will run amok and end up freebasing in a phone booth. But like Marion, we will move heaven and earth for our children, and sometimes, later on, our kids realize what we sacrificed for them. Eventually, if we are lucky, our kids see past our parental shield and appreciate us as people. And eventually, the roles shift, the scale balances, and eventually tips in their direction.

Rent Lady Bird.

Ann Silverthorn is a freelancer and blogger who writes in a wide variety of genres. She especially loves movies and sharing her thoughts about them. Follow her blog at www.AnnSilverthorn.com and find her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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