10 Incredible 2017 Movie Characters
4. Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson - Lady Bird
As a slice of life drama centered on the life of a Northern Californian schoolgirl, Lady Bird is a movie that lives or dies on its main character. Fortunately, the title character (played by absurdly talented Irish actress Saoirse Ronan) is a magnetic person to watch. It is an understated turn that cuts deep through its sheer honesty.
Set during the final year of Christine's Catholic education, Lady Bird is a film that manages to have universal appeal by being extremely specific. Lady Bird's rants about how Sacramento is "the midwest of California", and her eagerness to be free of her hometown is endlessly relate-able, and her struggle to have a relationship with her obstinate mother pays off in an understated but emotionally devastating way.
Lady Bird has been hailed as one of the best films of the year (rightly so), and Greta Gerwig's greatest achievement as a writer and director is the creation of such a nuanced protagonist. Flawed, impulsive, unsure, and really likable, Lady Bird grows more as a character in under 90 minutes than many other movie characters do in 2+ hours.