Lady Bird

The last of the Best Picture nominations to make it to these shores (but, spoiler alert, didn’t win) is the much-heralded Lady Bird. Smashing Rotten Tomatoes records on release we’ve been forced to wait patiently for Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut.

Lady Bird is a coming of age tale wrapped in a love letter to Sacramento, California. The titular Lady Bird is a self-given nom de plume of Christine, a college senior with our favourite coming of age hallmarks; a dysfunctional family and no love life.

What’s so special about this film is just how fresh this seemingly familiar tale feels. It hits the emotional beats and plot developments but with such a sharp and witty script and, most strikingly, overbearing realism.

The family and friendships depicted here feel particularly true to life and raises Lady Bird above the more romantic or comedic based films of this type. It still hits the comedy notes but in a much more self-deprecating way, casual lines of conversation have the strongest jokes.

The styling is great too; it zips along at a serious pace skipping between scenes without hand holding the viewer. Sure it’s indier-than-thou but the tone and characters are completely on point.

The 2002 setting also means the soundtrack is top; check the use of Justin Timberlake's Cry Me A River at a high school party.

Another fantastic and thoroughly deserved 2018 Oscar nominee. A must-see.

4 stars ****