Lady Bird (2017), directed by Greta Gerwig

A mother and daughter story rather than a coming of age story, Lady Bird is sweeter and sadder than expected. The humour is wry and random rather than laugh out loud and the sad moments could require tissues, especially for those who have experienced similar fraught relationships. Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson is more like her mother, Marion, than either of them is comfortable with. The film follows a year in their life in Sacramento, Lady Bird’s last year at her full on Catholic high school before going to college. She is desperate to get away to somewhere more cultured and sophisticated, while her mother is determined to hold on tight. It is 2002; the US is in recession and the yawning gap between the haves and the have nots is growing ever wider. From a cash-strapped family on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’, Lady Bird aspires to more. The year is full of milestones and experiments, including first love, passing the driving test and first sexual experience. It has a very good ensemble cast but the film rightly belongs to Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalfe as the fierce and strong daughter and mother. Ronan makes Lady Bird loveable despite her many flaws and Metcalfe constantly redeems the hard-edged Marion. The bittersweet tale demonstrates how it is possible to love people but not really like them, especially when they are your family.