Lady bird

Christine "Lady Bird" MacPherson in 2002 is a graduate of a Catholic school in Sacramento , California . She wants to continue her studies at a prestigious college in a “cultural city” on the east coast of the United States . However, her family is experiencing financial difficulties, as her father was left without work, and her mother-nurse earns little.

Lady Bird and her best friend Julie join the school theater, where Lady Bird meets a boy named Danny O'Neill. They have a romantic relationship. To the chagrin of her mother, Lady Bird agrees to Danny's invitation to celebrate Thanksgiving in his grandmother's chic mansion. Their romance ends when Lady Bird discovers that Danny is kissing a boy in a men's restroom.

Lady Bird gets a job in a cafe where she meets a young musician Kyle. After starting a romantic relationship with him, Lady Bird ceases to communicate with Julie. Teacher, sister Sarah, fines Jenna, one of the most popular girls in school, for wearing a miniskirt . Lady Bird invites Jenna to take revenge on the nun, and they decorate her car with wedding paraphernalia and the inscription "Just married Jesus."

Lady Bird leaves the theater club. In the cafe, she reassures Danny, who is afraid to come out and admit that he is gay. Jenna unexpectedly decides to visit Lady Bird on a visit, but finds out that her friend lied to her about the address and gave her Danny's mansion a house. Lady Bird loses her innocence with Kyle, who claims to be a virgin too, but denies it after sex.

Lady Bird sends applications for college to the east coast of the United States, although her mother insists that such expenses are not affordable for her family. To the delight of Lady Bird, the girl is put on a waiting list at a college in New York. She leaves for prom at school with Kyle, Jenna, and Jenna's boyfriend, but then Kyle offers to go to the party instead. Lady Bird initially agrees, but then asks to take her to Julie, and the girls go to the prom together.

Lady Bird’s mother discovers that after the end of the school year, her daughter went to university behind her and plans to move to New York, and stops talking to her. On Lady Bird’s eighteenth birthday, the father gives his daughter a cupcake with a candle and jokes that he will not divorce her mother, since they cannot afford a divorce. To celebrate coming of age, Lady Bird buys a pack of cigarettes, a raffle ticket and Playgirl magazine . She also successfully passes on a driver’s license. Lady Bird learns that she was enrolled in a college in New York and that she can afford her studies thanks to a scholarship and financial assistance from her father.

Parents take Lady Bird to the airport, but her mother refuses to accompany her on the plane. Soon she changes her mind and returns to the airport, but her daughter no longer catches.

In New York, Lady Bird finds an envelope in her suitcase with letters written by her mother and carefully preserved by her father. She begins to use her real name again. Having sorted out with alcohol at a party, Kristin gets to the hospital in a state of extreme intoxication. After leaving the hospital, she attends Sunday church service, after which she calls home and apologizes to her mother.

Development

Gerwig spent writing the script for several years. At some point, the number of its pages exceeded 350, and the film itself had the working title “Mothers and Daughters” ^[4] . In 2015, Herwig and her team received funding from IAC Films, which began producing the film together with Scott Rudin Productions Scott Rudin ^[5] . Herwig's manager, Evelyn O'Neill , also co-produced the film ^[5] .

Gerwig described the film as semi-autobiographical ^[6] , but at the same time noted that “nothing of this film happened in my life, but it has a core of truth that resonates with what I know” ^[4] . In order to prepare the actors and the film crew, Herwig gave them her school albums, photographs, magazines and works by Joan Didion , and also arranged a tour of her hometown ^{[7] [8]} . She told cameraman Sam Levy that she wanted the film to appear as a “memory” and that she “sought to create a film like Four Hits and Adolescence , but with a woman in the title role” ^[6] . This is the first film shot by Herwig alone; in 2008, she co-directed the movie Nights and Weekends with Joe Swanberg ^[9] .

Casting

In September 2015, Herwig met Sirsha Ronan at the Toronto International Film Festival , where they presented their films " Maggie Plan " and " Brooklyn, " respectively. They ran the script in the hotel room; in the process of reading, Herwig realized that Ronan was the right choice for the lead role ^{[10] [11]} . In January 2016, Ronan officially joined the film ^[12] . Gerwig met with Lucas Hedges and invited him to choose from male roles. He chose the role of Danny, believing that he would look unconvincing in the role of Kyle, and also because Danny is closer to him ^{[13] [14]} . Lori Metcalfe joined the film after Herwig saw her performance in the theater ^[15] . Tracy Letts , Timothy Chalamet , Beanie Feldstein , John Carna and Jordan Rodriguez joined the cast in September 2016 ^{[16] [17] [18]} .

Filming process

Filming was supposed to begin in March 2016, but was postponed until August, as Ronan was busy staging Arthur Miller ’s play “The Ordeal ” ^[19] . The filming process began on August 30, 2016 in Sacramento , California . Separate scenes of the film were also shot in Los Angeles and New York. ^[20] Herwig wanted to make a film on Super 16 film, but due to limited budgetary funds, she stopped at the Arri Alexa Mini. The final version of the film has digital noise , created in order for the film to acquire the effect of photography ^[21] .

For the role, Ronan dyed her hair red, and also did not use makeup to mask acne ; she considered the film “a good opportunity for the face of a teenager to really look like the face of a teenager” ^[22] . Herwig, using the method she learned from Rebecca Miller , arrived on the set an hour earlier than the rest, explaining in advance to the film team how the day would go. She also banned the use of smartphones on the set, taking this idea from Noah Baumbakh ^[23] .

In July 2017, A24 acquired the distribution rights to the film ^[24] . The world premiere of the picture took place on September 1, 2017 at the International Telluride Film Festival ^[25] . It was also shown at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2017 ^[26] and the New York Film Festival on October 8, 2017 ^[27] . The rights to international rental were obtained by Focus Features ^[28] . The movie premiered in theaters in the United States on November 3, 2017 ^[29] , February 16, 2018 in the UK, February 23, 2018 in Ireland, and March 15, 2018 in Russia ^[30] .

Fees

“Lady Bird” raised $ 49 million in the USA and Canada, and $ 30 million in other countries. Worldwide collections reached $ 79 million with a budget of $ 10 million ^[2] . It became the most profitable A24 studio movie in the American box office, ahead of the previous hit of this production company Moonlight (2016) in this indicator, which raised $ 27.8 million ^[31] .

Criticism

The film was recognized by film critics. On the Rotten Tomatoes website , the film is rated 99% based on 375 reviews with an average score of 8.75 out of 10 ^[32] . On the Metacritic website , the film has a rating of 94 out of 100 based on 50 reviews from critics, which corresponds to the status of “universal recognition” ^[33] .

Awards and nominations