I loved Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha, and it was mostly because of Greta Gerwig. She played such a charming, endearing screw-up struggling to figure out the early stages of adult life. I winced in sympathy as she stumbled, and rooted for her with every small but earned victory. It was such a joyous movie about arrested development and a delayed coming-of-age.
Last year, Gerwig shot her solo directorial debut, Lady Bird. The movie had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival last week, screens at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, and will screen at the 55th New York Film Festival next month. A24 will release the film later this year.
The first trailer for Lady Bird debuted this morning, and you can give it a watch below.
Yeah, this is totally my jam. Funny and sad and indie are my peanut butter and chocolate and bacon. Certain moments in Frances Ha seemed autobiographical, and Lady Bird just seems like an even more intensely personal work. How could it not be? Gerwig wrote and directed it, and it takes place in her hometown.
Bonus: the score is by Jon Brion.
Here’s an official synopsis for Lady Bird:
In Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig reveals herself to be a bold new cinematic voice with her directorial debut, excavating both the humor and pathos in the turbulent bond between a mother and her teenage daughter. Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) fights against but is exactly like her wildly loving, deeply opinionated and strong-willed mom (Laurie Metcalf), a nurse working tirelessly to keep her family afloat after Lady Bird’s father (Tracy Letts) loses his job. Set in Sacramento, California in 2002, amidst a rapidly shifting American economic landscape, Lady Bird is an affecting look at the relationships that shape us, the beliefs that define us, and the unmatched beauty of a place called home.
Lady Bird comes out November 10th. Check back with Flixist in October for a review of the film from the New York Film Festival. There’s a poster for Lady Bird in the gallery below.
