Greta Gerwig is a rising star in the Hollywood director scene. Her first three films tackle the idea of gender roles in unique ways. Lady Bird was a classic coming-of-age story that explored the female identity. Little Women took a classic story and modernized its themes and values for a new audience. Barbie took a familiar IP and challenged viewers to think about it in a new way. Each film built upon itself, allowing Gerwig to cover new narrative ground. It is a staple that answers an important question about her future in the industry.
Greta Gerwig’s voice is the future of blockbuster cinema. Her films are designed to make audiences think about society. With Barbie having impressive opening weekend numbers and a high Rotten Tomatoes score, the film is already becoming a hit. Audiences are responding to the message that Gerwig’s films convey. What makes her a success is something that some filmmakers sorely like. She understands and presents deep ideas in entertaining but thought-provoking ways.
Gerwig Understands Modern Audiences
Gerwig is someone who is not afraid to admit her fears. When taking on a project, she remains vocal about the angst she feels. She treats her viewers with a level of intelligence that many lack. That honesty about how she works and chooses projects is a genuine and relatable character trait. It’s her desire to tell stories that modern audiences can relate to. Her film's most relatable themes target a female demographic. Though at each story's heart, the ideas explored are for everyone.
Lady Bird’s protagonist is a young teen girl who faces regular problems. She dealt with common things like fights with friends, parents, and having crushes. Those are universal themes that everyone can relate to. Little Women dealt with identity and primarily focused on the roles of the March sisters in society during the late 1800s.
Each character struggled with their purpose, which is something everyone can relate to. Those themes culminate in Barbie to deliver something more thought-provoking. It is as if Gerwig took those themes she first explored and pushed them to the next level.
Barbie takes those themes in an entirely different direction. This film takes tackles feminism and identity in a new and profound direction. Exploring more mature concepts is a difficult feat to accomplish. Gerwig’s ability to handle these themes has attracted a variety of talented actors. How she explores these ideas makes her collaborators excited to work with her. Those deeper themes in her films are beginning to make Gerwig a household name. Barbie’s deeper themes helped to attract a high-caliber ensemble of actors.
Her Casts Love Working With Her
Saoirse Ronan and Gerwig have voiced their ambitions to work together for years. They want to “Be old ladies together making movies about old ladies.” That shows the mutual affection she creates with her casts. That affection translates to her films with a sense of passion being showcased. That passionate quality has helped Gerwig work with different calibers of actors. It was also a trait that brought the Barbie producers to knock on her door.
Gerwig has explained the deeper meaning of the Barbie film. She gave a beloved toy brand a feeling of complexity. To make a Barbie film deeper, she focused on asking one simple question. “Well, what if she’s (Barbie) complicated like everybody else?” making her voice and vision stand out from the crowd.
It’s the sort of question that made Robbie (Also a producer on the film) choose her to helm the project. Those deeper themes helped make Barbie the surprising hit film that it is. Her abilities promise a filmmaking trajectory that will lead to a bright future.
She has a known consciousness of who is cast in her films. Each project feels like Gerwig has handpicked those actors. Her directorial voice allows her to choose the best possible person for a role. Those choices might not be the ones that audiences expect. Casting someone like Ryan Gosling in the role of Ken could be deemed “obscure.” It was an ambitious choice that paid off in the film. Those ambitious choices make Gerwig a director unlike any other.
Greta Gerwig is a director unlike any other working in the industry today. Her first three major films explored mature themes and ideas. In the wrong hands, those themes could be poorly represented. Starting from smaller indie dramas, those themes have evolved into blockbuster filmmaking.
Described by many as a “feminist” filmmaker, Gerwig is someone so much more. She is a filmmaker that understands the questions modern audiences wrestle with regularly about themselves. It is an ambitious feat for any director to try and wrap their hands around those bigger ideas.
Greta Gerwig has proved that with three films in, she can tackle those bigger and more mature concepts. Tackling those ideas in accessible ways proves that she is more than the future voice of blockbuster cinema but the future voice of cinema itself.