Ladybird Ladybird

In a London karaoke bar circa 1987, Maggie confesses that her four children are in social services and reveals the weight of her troubled past. The conversation hints at a fragile hope for connection as Jorge, whom she calls George, listens and engages. He even chases down her bus to return her wallet, signaling the start of a complex bond.

The pair go to a pizza restaurant and then back to Jorge's apartment, where Maggie recounts her abusive, alcoholic ex-boyfriend Simon. They begin to kiss, but Maggie grows hysterical and storms out, revealing deep unresolved feelings about her children and her loss.

In a flashback, Maggie is singing in a club when a bartender calls her home to find a fire at the refuge. Her son Sean is injured and placed in hospital care, raising questions about Maggie’s responsibility. Maggie visits Sean and is harsh with his foster mother, highlighting her control issues and pain.

Social workers tell Maggie she must be assessed at a halfway house to have a chance at getting Sean back. She resists but eventually goes, leaving almost immediately after witnessing an altercation. With her sister Mairead unable to help and fears of losing the children, Maggie contemplates fleeing the city with Simon, but the plan falters when Simon ejects her from the van and the police intervene for the kids.

Back in the present, Jorge discloses that he is a political refugee from Paraguay and has not returned due to fear of persecution. He also reveals that he has a wife back in Paraguay, though he is not sure whether they remain married after so long.

At Maggie's court hearing, a doctor testifies that Maggie loves her children but is not capable of properly caring for them, citing her history with Simon. Maggie audibly protests and runs out of the courtroom, while the proceedings start to scrutinize her ability to raise Sean.

While the proceedings unfold, Jorge learns his visa issues could see him deported. He tears up his plane tickets and declares his commitment to Maggie. They move into a new flat, and Jorge takes an under-the-table job while Maggie confronts an adoption advertisement for Sean that unsettles her.

Maggie and Jorge have a baby, but tensions with their irritable neighbor Mrs. Higgs escalate as she makes racist remarks about Jorge. A health visitor later questions Maggie’s identity and the status of her older children, leading to authorities placing the baby under a place-of-safety order and the police taking the infant.

Maggie undergoes a series of interviews with Social Services to argue for keeping the baby, but she grows tired of the facade and berates one interviewer. Her deep-seated resentment toward Social Services surfaces, complicating any chance to retain custody.

In a subsequent trial, Mrs. Higgs testifies that Jorge has been abusive, and Jorge is briefly pulled aside for questioning about his past in Paraguay. He is served with deportation papers after his employer reveals his illegal status, while Maggie is judged unfit due to lack of self-control and reluctance to cooperate with Social Services.

Jorge returns to the flat and reveals he has been granted permission to stay in the country. He reiterates his desire to remain with Maggie, who experiences a volatile reaction, assaulting him before he eventually reconciles with him after a tense moment.

Maggie becomes pregnant again, and after the baby is born Social Services arrives with another place-of-safety order. Overwhelmed, Maggie attempts to throw herself out of a window, and she is sedated in response to the crisis.

The film closes with Maggie and Jorge at home, exchanging a final tense confrontation and a fragile reconciliation. A title card overlays the closing moments, leaving their future together unresolved but tempered by a stubborn bond.