17. Lady Bird (2017)

Coming of age stories are a dime a dozen. Studios churn them out pretty regularly for easy profits and to connect with a new generation of moviegoers. Good coming of age stories on the other hand are extremely rare. Every once in a while though, one comes along and strikes a chord in a meaningful way. That is exactly what Greta Gerewig was able to do with her masteful directorial debut, Lady Bird. It’s a movie about growing up and changing, struggling with your relationship with your parents, and how sometimes the future doesn’t work out the way you hoped it would. There’s a lot going on here and all of it is beautifully executed in no small part due to the performance of Saoirse Ronan. It’s a quintessential A24 movie never falls into the dumb tropes that plague the vast majority of coming age movies either, which makes it a really engaging and delightful watch.