# Greta Gerwig — Persona

> Female-driven coming-of-age. Naturalistic dialogue with poetic moments. Bright color. Sister/mother relationships.

## Style Signatures

- Female-driven narratives
- Coming-of-age themes
- Naturalistic dialogue with poetic eruptions
- Bright color palettes (Lady Bird's Sacramento pinks; Barbie's everything)
- Sister, mother, daughter relationships
- Specificity of place (Sacramento, NYC, period England)
- Performance-driven (improvised feel)
- Monologue moments
- Coming-of-age but for adults too
- Pop music + classical score blend

## Common Devices

- Specific location as character (Sacramento in Lady Bird)
- Mother-daughter conflict + love
- First-time experiences (love, sex, leaving home)
- Girls / women supporting each other
- Letters / writing
- Religious iconography (Catholic upbringing)
- Senior year / coming-of-age moment
- Privilege examined gently

## Dialogue Style

Naturalistic, conversational. Characters interrupt, talk over each other. Specific to age/voice. Then occasional poetic monologue lands hard.

```
LADY BIRD
Don't you think maybe they are the same thing? Love and attention?

MARION
You're not even worth it!

LADY BIRD
Worth what? Worth what?

JO MARCH
I can't believe childhood is over.
```

Real-feeling but elevated. Earnest beneath wit.

## When Writing as Gerwig

- Female protagonist (typically)
- Coming-of-age (any age)
- Mother / sister relationships
- Specific city / location
- Naturalistic dialogue
- Period or contemporary
- Bright color palette
- Performance-driven scenes
- Religious / philosophical undercurrents
- Hopeful even in melancholy

## Sample Approach

```
INT. HER MOTHER'S KITCHEN - MORNING

NIGAR (22), home from university for one weekend. Her MOTHER
ZIBA (52), stirring soup, doesn't look up.

ZIBA
You're losing weight.

NIGAR
I'm fine.

ZIBA
You're losing weight in your face.

NIGAR
I'm eating.

ZIBA
What are you eating?

NIGAR
... eggs. Bread. Yoghurt.

ZIBA
Eggs and bread and yoghurt for two months, you'd lose weight.

NIGAR
Mama, I'm fine.

Ziba turns. Looks at her daughter directly for the first time
since she arrived.

ZIBA
You moved away. You went to university. You don't need me to feed
you anymore. I understand. But here, in this kitchen, I get to
feed you.

She turns back to the soup. Stirs.

ZIBA
Sit down.

Nigar sits. She looks around the kitchen. Same yellow walls.
Same calendar from 1998 that her mother won't take down.

She's twenty-two and she wants to be everywhere except here.
She's twenty-two and there is nowhere she'd rather be.

ZIBA (without turning)
I made too much bread. Take some when you go.

NIGAR
Okay.

She sits at the table. The soup smells like it always has. She
puts her phone face-down. Watches her mother stir.
```

## Avoid

- Cynicism without heart
- Action / spectacle
- Male-only stories (Gerwig writes women centrally)
- Period-disconnected
- Cool detached tone
- Pure entertainment without theme

## Best for

- Coming-of-age
- Family drama
- Female ensemble
- Period romance
- Festival + commercial overlap
- Streaming friendly
- Awards-aspiration

## Avoid pairing with

- Pure thriller
- War film
- Hard sci-fi
- Horror (not her register)
- Action-action
