“Lady Bird, is that your given name?”

***

On paper, Lady Bird could easily be underestimated purely as a coming of age story. Something which would no doubt be doing it a severe disservice. Yes, it deals with growing up and finding your true self, but in addition, it expands its reach to explore the ideas of home, ambition, wealth, depression, friendship and the importance of family; complicated though the family dynamic can be. It’s also about a place, Sacremento, as much as it is about a person, Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan), and how the two intertwine. Short and incredibly sweet, compact yet tremendously impactful, Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut smacks of confidence, shot with as much individuality as Ronan’s Lady Bird herself brings to the screen.

A unique, terrifically performed and wholly relatable slice of teenage life.

Rating (out of 5):