Christmas Movies Month: In Theaters Now: Lady Bird

Lady Bird (2017)

Lady Bird, a new coming of age story written and directed by Greta Gerwig, opens with a quote from Joan Didion, “Anybody who talks about California hedonism has never spent a Christmas in Sacramento.” Didion was born and raised in Sacramento, as was Gerwig, as is Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, the title character of this critically acclaimed film. (The film is not only making most of the “Ten Best Films of 2017” lists, it has a 100% rating at Rotten Tomatoes -- with a record high number of reviews.)

This month we’re pushing the definition of a Christmas film here at Movie Churches, but this film not only opens with that quote mentioning Christmas, and we also get to see Lady Bird celebrate Christmas with her family. “Dance of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker is even included in the soundtrack.

And for this blog, it should be noted that there are churches, and there are clergy: priests and nuns. Lady Bird’s family doesn’t appear to be at all religious (Gerwig, who based this story on her own life, was raised Unitarian Universalist). Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) is sent by her parents to a Catholic school, not for religious reasons, but for safety’s sake (Lady Bird’s mother repeatedly mentions her son, Lady Bird’s brother, seeing a knifing outside a Sacramento public school.)

They’re not not required to fully participate. Sometimes Lady Bird appears to join in with the  singing and unison prayers, and sometimes she does not. When communion is distributed Lady Bird crosses her arms, which is often a request for a blessing while refusing communion. Lady Bird is also required to attend an anti abortion assembly and is suspended when we she argues against the guest speaker (to be fair, it is probably because Lady Bird uses obscenities in her argument.)

Films featuring Catholic Schools often portray the priests and nuns as being out of touch and clueless, even in films meaning to present them as positive (like last week’s featured film, The Bells of St. Mary’s). In films like Sing Street, the priests are downright mean -- if not outright evil. The teachers in Lady Bird really seem like kind people and good teachers.

Sister Sarah Joan (Lois Smith) genuinely cares about her students and presses them academically. She encourages them to read Augustine, Aquinas, and Kierkegaard (warning students that his description of “falling in love with God” will make them “swoon.”) When she chaperones the school dance, she encourages couples not to dance too close together, saying “Leave six inches for the Holy Spirit.” She also monitors skirt length, but not harshly. And when Lady Bird plays a mean-spirited practical joke on Sister Sarah Joan, the nun takes in all in good fun.

Lady Bird and her friend Julie sign up for the school drama program which is taught by Father Leviatch (Stephen Henderson). He obviously loves the theater and enthusiastically leads drama exercises along with his rehearsals. He takes on a very challenging musical, Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along. We see students gossiping about the priest, wondering how he came into the priesthood. They say he was married before, and his son died because of suicide or a drug overdose. He seems to suffer great emotional stress which leads to his leaving his position at the school.

Father Walther (Bob Stephenson) takes over as drama teacher, but his experience is in coaching football. His passionate direction of a rehearsal like football practice is probably the funniest scene in the film..

We see that Lady Bird is not exactly devout. She and Julie steal the communion wafers for snacking (but before they are consecrated). She mocks the priests and nuns, but when she goes off to college, we see that her days at Catholic school had an impact. Belief in God means something to her, as does church. The school may not have made her a Catholic, but she has been changed.

If this blog was for evaluating films, I’d happily join all the other critics in their praise of Lady Bird. Instead, I’ll praise the nuns and priests in the film, giving them the highest Movie Church rating of Four Steeples.

(Rated R for language and sexual content)

Brooklyn (2015, in theaters now)

I was going to see Brooklyn anyway. It's rocking 98% fresh with critics at Rotten Tomatoes and has been discussed for Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actress (for Saoirse Ronan as the young Irish immigrant, Eilis). Then friends mentioned that a priest plays a prominent role in the film, so I knew it might work for Movie Churches.  Viewing the film, I discovered it not only had a church, but a church Christmas scene, so it would fit with this month's Yuletide Theme; a big win all around.

The film opens in Ireland in the early 1950's, and one of the first scenes is set in a church worshiping with a Latin Mass. The church is full but many seem bored in the service. After Mass, a number of people go from the service to the little store where Eilis works part time. Employment options are limited in her small town, so when the opportunity arises, she decides to go to America to find work.

Eilis' immigration plans are coordinated by a priest in Ireland and a priest in Brooklyn. The priest in America sponsors the woman, arranging for her lodging and employment in her new land. Father Flood (played by Jim Broadbent) is an Irish immigrant as well, from the same town in Ireland. He remembers Eilis and knows she has potential.

When Eilis' bouts of homesickness hamper the cheerful attitude she needs to work effectively as a sales clerk at an upscale department store, her job is endangered. But instead of firing her, her intimidating boss calls in Father Flood to give her council and comfort. The priest encourages her to carry on in her work, but arranges for her to take accounting classes. He assures her that someone will pay for her school (an anonymous member of Flood's church who apparently has some atoning to do.)

Church dances provide Eilis and other new immigrants with another important service: a social life. Weekly church dances provide a wholesome atmosphere for entertainment and socializing. (It is at such a dance that Eilis meets the young man that will provide the romance and conflict for the remainder of the film.)

At the church, Eilis also finds a place to serve. While other girls in her boarding house find families to join for Christmas, Eilis helps with the Christmas meal for destitute men (most of them Irish immigrants as well). She finds the men's stories and songs from the old country almost as encouraging as the men's encouragement from her hard work and cheerful attitude. (And I, of course, found a reason to include the film in this month's Christmas theme.)

There is one other important scene in the film that takes place in a church. There is a wedding. Often I don't give much attention to church weddings at this blog because often the scene could just as well take place at any venue. But the wedding scene in this film provides the important thematic and plotting function of reminding a character of the sacredness of wedding vows.

You probably can still catch Brooklyn in a theater near you. I'm giving the Movie Church in the film Four Steeples.

So, there. The last Movie Church of 2015. Thanks to all who have read the blog through the year, especially those of you who have provided reactions and comments.

In 2016 we will be adding a couple of features. On Thursdays, we'll continue to post about a Movie Church fitting into the month's theme (among the themes next year: comedies, cops and robbers, depression, and crises) In addition, there'll be other posts related to an adventure my wife Mindy and I are taking next year.

During 2016, we plan to travel throughout America, visiting a church and a bar in each of the United States. Every week, we'll view a film related in some way to the state we are visiting, and we'll post about that. And if we go to movie theaters on our journeys, we may post that here as well.

So a Happy New Year to all, and we look forward to having you along for the ride in Movie Churches 2016!