Greta Gerwig: From film student to fan.
Having been a fan of the writer director Greta Gerwig for many years, you can imagine my excitement when eagerly anticipating watching her debut solo work in the cinema.
As a matter of fact, it is now my fifth time watching Ladybird, which stars a fresh face in cinema, Saoirse Ronan. So how did I get to this point of watching Gerwig’s film five times over? Let me take you back to a rainy Sunday over ten years ago, when I sat at my computer and aimlessly browsed Facebook, having just completed an HND in media production. Suddenly, I hear a ping of a message that I had just received. I looked down to see a trailer for a film called Frances Ha and a message from a friend suggesting we watched it. After watching said trailer, I agree to watch the entire film that afternoon. As soon as we started watching the film, I immediately fell in love with it, it is sweet, funny and heart-felt all at the same time. It was co-written by Gerwig, and an indie film maker named Noah Baumbach.
From here, I went on to watch all of the films in which she was involved, starting with Hannah Takes the Stairs, then Evenings and Weekends, and after that, Bag Head. Gerwig starred in these films as part of the mumblecore movement, which didn’t necessarily employ professional actors to perform in the films and improvise their performances. She also collaborated with Ben Stiller on Greenberg, and in Jackie, a film on the life of Jackie Kennedy, Gerwig starred alongside the Oscar nominated Natalie Portman. Also, Gerwig’s characterstic indie presence is continually maintained in Maggie’s Plan and Twentieth Century Women.
The next Gerwig film I watched was at the cinema, another shared project with Baumbach, called Mistress America. In fact, I enjoyed this film so much, I still have the cinema’s poster for the film framed in my room to this day. Mistress America had the same impact on me as Frances Ha, portraying similar emotions, and evoking similar feelings on it’s audiences. As I whatched more and more of Greta Gerwig work, I realized that wether she is acting, writing or directing she choosed her projects in which these feelings are evident.
What strikes me as so moving about Gerwig’s work is its originality. Compared to so many movies today which are adaptations of literature, a reflection of a true story, sequels and prequels to earlier films, or huge franchises, Gerwig’s screenplays provide us with a brilliant example of how valuable originality is within the film industry. The characters of Lady Bird parents played by Laurie Metcalf and Tracy Letts, reminded me my own parents attitudes. At once loving and firm giving their daughter a direction, wanted or not, because of this Lady Bird has universal appeal.
In conclusion, I am excited to learn of Gerwig Oscar nomination for Ladybird. As you can infer from my watching of it five times (so far!), I feel it deserves recognition through its Oscar awards, for both Gerwig and Ronan. Here’s hoping that Gerwig’s perceptive and touching responses to everyday lives reflected especially in Ladybird gain continuing respect in the film industry, and that Gerwig will continue to delight her audiences.
Christopher Long