'Catherine Called Birdy' review:  Affecting coming-of-age story 

WHAT IT'S ABOUT Lena Dunham returns behind the camera to write and direct a feature film adaptation of the 1994 Newbery-winning children's novel by Karen Cushman.

"Catherine Called Birdy" tells the story of the teenage Lady Catherine (Bella Ramsey, "Game of Thrones"), a free spirit born in the wrong time and place, pushing against the strenuous patriarchical limitations placed on her in 13th Century England.

The story concerns the efforts of her father, Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott), to marry off his daughter and the subversive plans she crafts to scare off each one of the suitors.

Co-stars include Billie Piper as Catherine's mother, Lady Aislinn, and Joe Alwyn as her uncle George. 

MY SAY The thought of Dunham making a movie set in 1290 England at first seems rather strange.

It's far from a natural fit for the onetime voice of a certain swath of privileged, hipster Brooklyn in "Girls." And there's a bit of an adjustment required to meet "Catherine Called Birdy" on its wavelength, to become attuned to the modern sensibility infused into the character and her story. 

It should come as no great shock that Dunham's interests lie somewhere other than achieving a painstakingly convincing portrait of the life of a teenage girl in medieval Britain.

More than anything, the picture finds its purpose in offering an approachable period piece to younger audiences. That comes complete with an effective message about being true to yourself and standing up against the societal forces that strive to place you into a particular box, to force conformity with the way of things.

It materializes in the way Dunham adapts the novel's epistolary approach, with the story framed as a diary crafted by Catherine and frequent narration offering her true feelings about the events at hand.

As played by Ramsey, she's a fierce and independent girl who refuses to accept the conventional idea that her marriage must be no more than a financial transaction to whomever her father selects. Even in the most grim of moments, she's unwavering in her belief that this is wrong and must be stopped.

Her confidence proves infectious; it's easy to be swept up in rooting for Catherine to foil these various schemes, even as the logical side of the brain recognizes how incongruous so much of this might have been.

Dunham operates with a light touch that allows for the picture to work as a broad entertainment. She recognizes that it's important to tread lightly to attract the widest possible swath of the target audience.

In other cases that might suggest that a filmmaker has compromised, but here the accessible approach enhances the effectiveness of the central idea. There are universal truths that transcend time and place, "Catherine Called Birdy" says, none more so than that every person has a right to pursue their own happiness, in their own way.

BOTTOM LINE Lena Dunham brings her unique style and approach to a period piece in "Catherine Called Birdy." and she comes away with an affecting coming-of-age story.