“Give me a number,” Lady Bird demanded as she jumped up from the couch, tired of her mother’s constant berating. She grabbed a notepad and stood in front of her mom. “You give me a number of how much it cost to raise me,” her voice shook as she held back tears, “and I’m gonna get older and make a lot of money, and write you a check for what I owe you so I never have to speak to you again.”

Her mother, unmoved, just stared at her. “Well, I highly doubt you’d be able to get a job good enough to do that.”

Lady Bird threw the notepad onto the floor and stomped away. No matter what she did, she felt as if she could never be enough for her mother.

“Lady Bird” follows a young girl named Christine McPherson, played by Saoirse Ronan, who insists on being called Lady Bird, nicknamed after Lady Bird Johnson, a First Lady of the United States. 

She is a quirky, rebellious senior in high school who longs to escape her hometown in Sacramento, California. While most of her classmates at her private Catholic school come from generational wealth, she lives on the other side of the train tracks in a struggling household. 

She’s always wanted to experience the privileged, carefree life that seems normal for everyone else around her. For Lady Bird, college is her one true escape, a chance to leave everything behind and have a fresh start in New York.

The film’s conflict centers around Lady Bird’s relationship with her mom, Marion, played by Laurie Metcalf. Their bond is strained through their clashing personalities, high expectations and constant arguments. Her mother’s strict and critical personality contrasts with Lady Bird’s impulsive and rebellious spirit. Both are incredibly stubborn, each trying to find control and the film shows the push and pull between a daughter desperate to find an identity and a mother who struggles to guide her daughter and let her go.

Ellen Thyer, graduate student in landscape architecture and a visitor at the Wildcat Film Appreciation Society, expressed her sympathy for the mother-daughter relationship.

“The two have strong personalities; they’re more alike than they’d want to admit … It’s everyone’s first time living,” Thyer said. “You’re just doing what you can with what you have and what you know.”

The emotional rawness of “Laby Bird” makes it unforgettable. The arguments are painfully real, and the challenges characters face are deeply relatable. By the end of the film, members of the film appreciation society were moved to tears by the film’s incredibly personal themes. 

“Lady Bird” can resonate with university students who have left home to chase opportunities. Most of us know what it’s like to be misunderstood by the people who are supposed to know us best, the ones who see our worst and best moments every single day. The film is a great reminder that within families, love and frustration can often feel the same.

“Lady Bird” is an incredible coming-of-age about family struggles and the desire to stand out while also wanting to belong. No matter who you are, you can find yourself in these characters. “Lady Bird” reminds us of something we often forgot in our childhoods: our parents are people too. Deeply flawed, but deeply human. For its honest emotional depth, I would give this film 4.5 stars out of 5.