Topical and relatable, Lady Bird is the voice of millenials and their mothers. Spoilers for the film below.
On a drive back home from a trip filled with tours of California colleges, Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, jumps out of her mother’s car. This, so to speak, was the defining scene in Lady Bird that united teen viewers who saw and sought a future beyond the bounds of their city limits.
In the moments preceding Lady Bird’s iconic jump, her and her mother had quickly drawn themselves into an argument concerning her plans for college. Her mother, Marion, was quick to denounce her dreams to leave California by citing the expenses to be too much of a burden. Despite Marion‘s concerns, Lady Bird–behind her mother’s back–continues to apply to east coast colleges with the help of her father.
The audience sees Lady Bird get accepted to a school in New York and sees her relationship with her mother start to crumble after her mother realizes what she did. As the film wraps the audience sees Christine drop her “Lady Bird” persona to settle into life as a college student, something she couldn’t fully do before leaving her mother a voicemail: “Thank You.” An expression Christine forgot to communicate time and time again.
Even if dramas aren’t your thing, I’m sure you’ll fall in love with this film. With an unexpected sense of comedy, Lady Bird, is quite the entertaining piece. It’s ability to relate to its viewers has also not gone unnoticed; whether you’re young or old, a daughter/son or a parent, there’s a variety of things that will move you.