Greta Gerwig has been my favorite actor since Frances Ha. Now she’s my favorite director. The coming-of-age dramedy is about as worked-out a genre as they come. So when a film this honest comes along and makes it all fresh and surprising, it’s worth a look. The actor/writer/director’s keenly observed, semi-autobiographical story of growing up in Sacramento needs no clever plot twists or film school tricks. It works on its confidence, its lived-in characters and its pure smarts. Saoirse Ronan does Oscar-level work as the title teen, as does Laurie Metcalf as her mother. Many more words but no more space. See it. (94 min)