I'm getting mixed reactions" said the cinema manager. "Some love it, some leave mid-way, saying there's nothing going on".
Rotten Tomatoes" gives it 99%.
Lady Bird is set in Sacramento, and we get to see the river, and homes on both sides of the tracks.
For Lady Bird, played by Saoirse Ronan, Sacramento is the place she has to escape. For her loving, easy-going, father it is where he has just lost his job. For her mother, a psychiatric nurse, it is where she makes her living, and tries to make ends meet.
Both women are strong, unyielding, determined. Neither seem to be able to get past their obsessions to give and receive warmth and love.
Inter alia we meet not quite stereotypical nuns, a damaged but charismatic priest, her best friend Julie, two boyfriends and the schools's "popular" girl whom Lady Bird tries to befriend, even inventing a more socially acceptable address in the process.
Don't expect high drama. Do expect to meet convincing flawed people, who at times are their own worst enemies, and who are muddling through as best they can.
This is not a "feel good" movie. But it does feel like a slice of real life, and the cinematography, script and acting are superb.
It may be closer to art-house than blockbuster but it is well worth going to see.
