Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, 2017)

Nominated for multiple Oscars, it's at once easy to see why the U.S. audience loved it and why it doesn't quite travel intact across the pond. Saoirse Ronan, as the independent-minded teen who insists on being called Lady Bird for reasons only known to herself and Gerwig (because it's loopy, and that underlines her freedom of spirit?), puts in a compelling performance as she navigates the tribulations of teenage and young love. Laurie Metcalf is also solid as her mother, perpetually at loggerheads with her, and the film is to be applauded for having the courage to avoid cheap, overly-dramatic plot twists. However, as anyone who had the patience to sit through the Gerwig-scripted navel-gazing Frances Ha may recall, the dialogue is also very much Marmite, with everyone constantly bombing each other with dry witticisms, which can be quite suffocating. The unhistrionic plot just about outweighs this source of irritation.

6/10