PREMISE
Lady Bird is the story of CHRISTINE, aka LADY BIRD, a fiercely independent high school senior navigating her final year of Catholic school in Sacramento, California, during 2002. Living in a modest home with her family, Lady Bird dreams of escaping the perceived dullness of her hometown for the vibrancy and sophistication of the East Coast, where she imagines attending a prestigious college. However, her dreams are constrained by her family’s financial situation and her mother MARION’s pragmatic insistence that Lady Bird stay closer to home. Their mother-daughter relationship is a central tension in the story, marked by a mix of love, exasperation, and mutual misunderstanding. As Lady Bird moves through her senior year, she auditions for the school play alongside her best friend, JULIE, and begins a sweet, idealistic romance with DANNY , a boy from a well-off family. Their relationship gives Lady Bird a glimpse into a lifestyle she envies, but it ultimately collapses when she discovers Danny is a gay.
Feeling betrayed and lost, she drifts toward KYLE, a brooding musician whose detachment appeals to her desire for sophistication and rebellion. Meanwhile, Lady Bird distances herself from Julie to pursue popularity, leading to further complications in her personal life. At home, Lady Bird’s relationship with her parents grows more fraught as she secretly applies to out-of-state colleges against her mother’s wishes. Financial pressures and Marion’s high expectations push their already strained bond to the breaking point. Through arguments and moments of quiet connection, Lady Bird begins to see the complexity of her mother’s love and the sacrifices her parents have made. As graduation approaches, Lady Bird’s journey culminates in a mix of self-realization and reconciliation.