The Analysis of Lady Bird Essay Example

The film Lady Bird is touching, heartbreaking and relatable because of the heartwarming scenes between Lady Bird and her mom, the gut-wrenching finale, and the realistic experiences the characters go through.

The stunning writing and direction of Greta Gerwig brought to life one of the most complex, yet intriguing mother-daughter relationships ever seen on screen. Greta Gerwig, an American actress, writer, and director, recently debuted as the solo writer and director of Lady Bird in 2017. In the movie, she managed to create a dynamic mother-daughter duo with a complicated relationship. Lady Bird and her mother always seemed to be at each other’s throats, but at the same time it was obvious they could not live without each other. Someone wisely described them as being “cut from the same stubborn oak”, but said that their “love is indisputable.” (Travers). In a spectacularly well-written scene, Lady Bird is shown to be upset and weeping and when her judgmental, overbearing mother sees her, instead of yelling at her, as she normally would, she embraces her in a warm hug. She held her as she cried and took her to see open houses afterwards which Lady Bird loved to do. This heartwarming scene revealed that even though Lady Bird’s mother is a bit hypercritical, she still wants what is best for her daughter. It may seem hard to capture such a unique mother-daughter relationship, but Gerwig made it seem easy. Her flawless writing shined some light on the day-to-day issues mothers and daughters have. She showed that even though it may seem that our mothers are just giving us chores or telling us what we are doing wrong, they still love us and want us to succeed in life.

The suspenseful and distressing conclusion of Lady Bird left the audience wanting more and with tears in their eyes. Lady Bird and her mother, disagree about many issues, especially regarding the aspects of Lady Bird’s life. The major issue that threatens their relationship is what college Lady Bird will go to. They argue about it daily and are constantly at each other’s throats because of it. Lady Bird wants to leave Sacramento and go to college in another state while her mother wants her to stay. Since there was no changing her mother’s decision, Lady Bird decided to go behind her mother’s back and apply to colleges outside of Sacramento. Her mother “she clams shut like thunder, behaving as if an unforgivable slight has been dealt out.” when she found out (Robey). In a heartbreaking scene, Lady Bird is desperately begging her mother to talk to her. With no success, the wedge in their relationship grows larger. Their relationship got even more stained when Lady Bird got accepted into a college in New York. She left without making up with her mother and when she got to New York she realized how much she needs her mother and how much she loves her. After this realization, in the upsetting final scene, Lady Bird is shown calling her mother to tell her how much she loves her and how much she thanks her for everything she has done for her. It is moving how Lady Bird finally learned to appreciate everything her mother has ever done for her. It is also tragic how we never find out what happens next. We will never know how their relationship turned out or if they ever made up.

Unlike other coming-of-age movies that sugarcoat the high school experience, Lady Bird illustrates exactly what high school is like. Lady Bird’s entire school experience was awkward, unpleasant and problematic. Her encounters with boys never turned out the way she wanted them to. Her first ever boyfriend, Danny, was sexually confused and she once caught him making out with a guy in a bathroom stall. Her second boyfriend, Kyle, broke her heart by lying to her about his virginity after she had given up her “flower” to him. Lady Bird’s experiences with guys are not the only relatable aspects of her life, her relationship with her mother also reflects real life circumstances. Throughout the entire film, Lady Bird’s rocky and dysfunctional relationship with her mother is shown. Lady Bird and her mom bicker and fight on the daily, but they still love each other. In some scenes, like the opening scene where they wake up next to each other in the same bed, Lady Bird and her mother were close and connected while in other scenes, like the scene where they argue in the car and Lady Bird ends up jumping out of it, they are as distant as can be. These scenes would not be the same if the characters were not played by the amazing actors. Without a doubt, the amazing acting in Lady Bird made the character’s more believable and their experiences more authentic. The script was extremely relatable and “every line sounds like something a person might actually say” (Scott). One actor that made the movie more realistic was Timothée Chalamet who played Kyle. He nailed his performance by bringing his character’s laid-back and imperturbable attitude to a whole new level.