Let us anticipate Greta Gerwig's directorial debut "Lady Bird"

And, yes, solidly Team Metcalf.

yes, i'm eager to see it tho Frances Ha > Mistress America

^^^

I thought this was really charming and funny, with beautiful performances that amounted to a lot more than just a series of quirks. Laurie Metcalf was particularly great. I loved how the film made sure to define her as her own person, not just a hectoring mother to a teen she doesn't understand. As for Lady Bird herself, she's an obvious director surrogate in a very autobiographical story, but it's amazing how much more I can stand the typical Gerwig character when she's an actual teenager, not an emotionally-stunted adult.

I thought this was very sweet.

this has gotten even better in my mind since watching it

The depth of empathy for everyone on screen is worthy of comparisons to Renoir

This also very much reinforced my belief that friendships between women are the best thing to make movies about.

I know comparing with Renoir risk overselling it, but I calls 'em as I feels 'em.

waiting for you to label Call Me by Your Name Ivory-esque

Ang Lee-esque maybe

I haven't read much Oscar buzz about Ronan but, boy, does she deserve it.

Really? I've seen her on the bulk of lists.

Of course, I've also seen Emma Stone on most of those same lists.

haven't seen this yet but really want to. gerwig was on fresh air this morning, she's funny (in a weird funny way like half the people she plays; like, she wanted to be a competitive fencer and that's why she went to catholic high school, because they'd accommodate her travel schedule). does she have a flat, affectless manner when she speaks? yes but for some reason it's worked in everything I've seen her in.

also even though yes I haven't even seen the movie, they played one bit of dialogue from this and though there was nothing amazing about it, just listening to the delivery of it made me cry in the car.

Man, the part at the end where Terry asks her about Woody Allen (allegations) was pretty weird and awkward. She basically talks about how she refuses to talk about it because she doesn't want to say the wrong thing and have it affect her career, which is real, but in a way, this seems like the worst thing she could say?

No that’s not the worst thing she could say

Well yeah

o this was so great

this movie was so charming

The depth of empathy for everyone on screen is worthy of comparisons to Renoir

― Anne of the Thousand Gays (Eric H.), Tuesday, November 14, 2017 9:15 AM (five days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

extremely down with this comparison

This movie was very sweet. It grew on me more and more as it went on.

Loved this so, so much. The matinee I saw was completely sold out. I loathed Frances Ha and Mistress America, just awful, so I went in somewhat skeptical, but was relieved that none of the whimsy or boring sensibility of Baumbach/Anderson/Allen rubbed off on Gerwig. She really delivered on "a female counterpoint to tales like The 400 Blows and Boyhood." No mixtape swapping, no scenes of teens sitting around a stereo talking about how cool this or that band is, not exaggeration of taste. Lady Bird liked Alanis Morisette - in 2002! So refreshing. Finally a coming of age story about real people with complex relationships. Moments of real pathos: Danny breaking down and falling into Lady Bird's arms as he cries that he's terrified of telling his mom that he's gay, begging her not to tell anyone - you could hear a fucking pin drop in that packed theater. It was really stunning. It's not particularly innovative and yeah the ending is predictable, but so what? Sometimes a nice piece of cake just needs to be that. I can't stress what a welcome relief this movie is from garbage like 20th Century Women or Moonrise Kingdom - more female counterpoints to that shit immediately, please! Saoirse Ronan fantastic obviously, along with everyone else. Gerwig knocked it out of the park.

Damn even Armond White liked this

I loathed Frances Ha and Mistress America, just awful,

oh come on

I love your response otherwise though!

garbage like 20th Century Women

wait wtf

I'm not a fan but I can understand what (lots and lots) of my filmcrit friends saw in it.

flappy - 20th century women rules....eh?

The depth of empathy for everyone on screen is worthy of comparisons to Renoir

Yes, good observation and a rare and refreshing virtue

Although the empathy may not have extended to bf #2

I recognized enough of myself and/or my friends at that age (i.e. the barter gag) that I extended it.

Chalamet is resourceful enough an actor (and Gerwig gives him the space) to remind us why we found selfish dicks hot as fuck.

Saw this tonight. I liked the last third better than the first hour--which is good, I'd rather have a film end strong. Favourite two things were the scene where Lois Smith suggested love = attention, and also Lady Bird's voiceover about driving around Sacramento (and the matching shots of her and her mom behind the wheel). I'm always moved by scenes where someone gets an acceptance letter in the mail for university--think I could name a half-dozen other good ones. And proms, I guess because I didn't go my own. I kind of wish Laurie Metcalf hadn't been given a milder version of the Mary Tyler Moore role from Ordinary People. She's just so funny on Roseanne; I missed that.

I'm always moved by scenes where someone gets an acceptance letter in the mail for university

With me it's scenes involving parents and kids entering college saying their goodbyes. This one offered a bittersweet and no less wrenching variation.

They're great too, and Lady Bird's wasn't like anything I'd ever seen. Sort of reminded me of Sarris writing about Notorious, how the camera settles on the villain rather than the two principals--not that Laurie Metcalf's the villain, but following her in and out of the airport was unusual and really nice.

the trailer makes this look like some rote indie h**ster film. i take it that the trailer is just rotten then?

The movie is a lot better than the trailer led me to expect

I loathed Frances Ha and Mistress America, just awful,

oh come on

― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

I love your response otherwise though!

― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

garbage like 20th Century Women

wait wtf

― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson)

I'm not a fan but I can understand what (lots and lots) of my filmcrit friends saw in it.

― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

flappy - 20th century women rules....eh?

― Week of Wonders (Ross)

Haven't seen Frances Ha since it came out 5 years ago but I really hated it, the world doesn't need another second of Woody Allen cosplay. It came out around the same time Girls premiered on HBO and I was just completely fed up with struggling artists (?) in love letters to NYC. Mistress America is fresh in my mind, I remember that one being just so weightless and full of noxious whimsy and silliness, as if Baumbach was trying to outdo the worst of Wes Anderson. I rewatched Greenberg tonight after making my initial post and seeing the responses, and it's even better than I remember. Brilliant movie. The Greenberg character is incredible, such a beautiful excoriation of a certain type of meek hipster that is all too often exalted and excused for in movies, culture, and society. The scene when he's doing coke with the millennials and he's going off about how he's better than them because they're "so sincere, and confident, and you don't have any hangups, and you listen to older, smart people...like me." The movie is such a fantastic dark satire, totally absurd at times, and I really despised Frances Ha & Mistress America because it was as if Baumbach embraced the sensibility of the effigy that he completely torched in his last movie.

20th Century Women... this is what I wrote at the time:

Mike Mills makes the same mistake here, presenting one-dimensional archetypes instead of the real people he claims to pay homage to. Some autobiography. 20th Century Women is slotted with scarecrows: the neurotic teenage boy who’s obviously a stand-in for the director (Lucas Jade Zumann); the slightly older girl that the director always wanted to fuck but got emotionally toyed with instead (Elle Fanning); the boy’s eccentric and often embarrassing free spirit of a mother (Annette Bening); and the new wave art girl who lived on the Lower East Side in the mid-1970s and moved back home, whose sole purpose is to give us reason to believe any of these people would be listening to Suicide and The Talking Heads or wearing Lou Reed and Devo t-shirts (that would be Greta Gerwig).

Do we really need another poignant scene of parents freaking out over Black Flag? Pick your generation and band of choice—20th Century Women is pure nostalgia porn, an exercise that should’ve been carried out in private, for much less money.

also 20th Century Women was so obviously written by a dude from a dude's perspective. I found the whole conceit at best a complete failure, at worst really disingenuous.

I wouldn't say they freaked out over Black Flag; they were bemused.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up0pJ4Otvkk

The trailer isn’t very indicative of the movie, but I did love it’s use of the Monkees’ “As We Go Along.”

after the third-or-so appearance of "Crash" by DMB I was about to cry uncle

(that was my point of empathy with Kyle/bf2)

I agree with the Facebook clickbait article about how more characters in movies should have bad taste in music.

Or, rather, fewer should flaunt their directors' ostensibly amazing taste in music.

Dunno about "Facebook clickbait," but I assume you're talking about this Steven Hyden piece? http://uproxx.com/movies/lady-bird-dave-matthews-band-in-defense-of-fictional-uncool-music-taste/

I was being a little glib. I agree with the sentiment.

here's my thinkpiece: I Loved This Movie But "Crash into Me" Has Been Stuck in My Head for Almost 24 Hours

It’s one thing, for instance, to make Margot a Rolling Stones fan in The Royal Tenenbaums, but isn’t it a little much that she plays “She Smiles Sweetly,” a largely unknown cut from 1967’s Between The Buttons, on a frickin’ record player?

this is p dumb imo (oh big surprise from a st*ve hyd*n piece)

I haven't seen this yet (or read the Hyden thing, lol) but I broadly agree with the sentiment that many filmmakers err on the side of hipness instead of what's "in character" / setting-appropriate

Ladybird is good but it’s been done way better

Suburbia - slums - little miss sunshine ♥️

did they ever say why she wanted to be called Lady Bird?

No they didn’t, I watched it again to see if I missed anything but this is never explained! wtf

that's one of the good things about it

Lots about this movie felt auxiliary, like sometimes it was nice that certain characters were not expanded on too much but given their moment but some major characters felt underdeveloped to me, like the Mom (despite a wonderful performance).

when you're a teen, are moms ever really knowable

fwiw I took the musical choices of LB and her friend to be kind of this nerdy friend thing where they were still really stuck on the songs that came out when they were in middle school

What I liked most about LB was that it seemed made with a light touch which also suggested confidence/assurance. I loved when it indulged silly and absurd humor, like the football coach's stage directions.

The movie didn't really "stick with me" but definitely charmed and entertained.

i guess tuition got too expensive in NYC for Lady Bird :/ https://t.co/sG7T6LBuB4

— m (@myownprividaho) September 4, 2018

She shouldn't have taken that magazine!

wow @mugshotbaes is an obnoxious concept

absolutely but I won't deny I legitimately lol'd at this the moment I caught it

I was yesterday years old when I found out Beanie Feldstein is Jonah Hill's little sister.

you can see it in her face, but yeah, this is not widely known i dont think

oh weird.

this was great. so, so many killer lines

I watched it a few days ago and didn't actually care for it!

You monster why on earth not

I can't remember, I was drunk.

:)

Watching a movie drunk seems weird

not sure id actually seen saoirse in anything, tbh. jesus shes note perfect and better in this.

doing anything drunk seems weird, because youre drunk

Saoirse Ronan is the best

She hasn't given a bad performance yet.

I taught this film last fall -- my students love it.

I’m way overdue to see Brooklyn.

Alfred I should reiterate that I recall that your review you linked upthread really touched me.

Watching a movie drunk seems weird

― silby,

There's a pandemic on!

I do love Saoirse, though. A LOT.

I know the film makes her dowdy deliberately but I think she's astonishingly beautiful and she is so simpatico.

oh! Thank you! *hugs at 10 feet*

Brooklyn is old-fashioned solid-good film making and it is great and she looks incredible throughout. It has finesse.

I found it very moving, much to my surprise.

yes, I did too

and Emory Cohen is cute as fuck

yes, looked him up straight away.

He is not cute anywhere else.

his character in the novel is a perfect smouldering flame

he's kinda creepy-cute. intriguing.

I guess that's good/clever casting! xp

Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson: Just because something looks ugly doesn't mean that it's morally wrong.

GINNI THOMAS: You think dead children aren't morally wrong?

Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson: No. I'm just saying that, if you took up close pictures of my vagina while I was on my period, it would be disturbing but it doesn't make it wrong.