Movies

A Connection Between Characters in the Saoirse Ronan Universe

Does Lady Bird have a younger sister?
Lady Bird
By  · Published on February 9th, 2018

Does Lady Bird have a younger sister?

I saw Lady Bird for the first time this week. (I know, I know, I’m sorry.) Unless you too were living under a rock, you know that it’s really really good.

You probably also know that Saoirse Ronan stars in the titular role. And that for her part, Ronan received a Golden Globe award for Best Actress, and is one of the favorites to win the equivalent prize at next month’s Academy Awards. Though she is only 23 years-old, this is Ronan’s third nomination.

Her first film appearance came as thirteen year-old Izzie Mensforth in the 2007 rom-com, I Could Never Be Your Woman, which also starred Michelle Pfeiffer as Ronan’s divorced mother and Paul Rudd as Pfeiffer’s love interest.

“Saoirse Ronan: Then and Now – Izzie & Lady Bird” is a simple, yet jarring video that shows some pretty deep similarities between the characters Saoirse Ronan plays in the aforementioned two films. The video explores the mother-daughter conflicts that are central to both, and illustrates just how similar Lady Bird is to young Izzie.

Like Lady Bird, Izzie too isn’t fond of her name. In the first of the video’s comparisons, she demands that her mother call her Drew, just as Lady Bird corrects her mother whenever she calls her Christine. Izzie and her mother also fight in a clothing store over Izzie’s appearance, just as Lady Bird and her mother Marion (Laurie Metcalf) do as they shop for a prom dress. And in the third comparison, both mother-daughter duos have a conversation about when it’s appropriate to have sex. The resemblance between the two is difficult to miss.

If these were Marvel movies, we’d be speculating about their relationship. Are they sisters? Childhood friends? The same person existing in two different dimensions? Did some Parent Trap-like scheme take place? Is I Could Never Be Your Woman actually a prequel to Lady Bird?

As the Saoirse Universe continues to expand, the answers to these questions may become more clear. For now, check it out for yourself:

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Will DiGravio is a Brooklyn-based critic, researcher, and video essayist, who has been a contributor at Film School Rejects since 2018. Follow and/or unfollow him on Twitter @willdigravio.