By Becca Johnson - November 19, 2024
Bird, directed by British auteur Andrea Arnold, is her first fictitious directorial feature film since 2016’s American Honey starring Shia LaBeouf and Sasha Lane. In that eight year gap, her directorial efforts have leant themselves to documentary Cow (2021), a close-up portrait of the daily lives of two cows, and Season 2 of HBO’s Big Little Lies starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. Despite turning in work regularly, a new feature length fiction film from Arnold has been long awaited, and luckily, Bird is an excellent follow-up to her earlier works.
It follows 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams), who lives with her chaotic single dad Bug (Barry Keoghan) and wayward brother Hunter (Jason Buda) in a squat in Gravesend, North Kent. Approaching puberty and seeking attention and adventure, Bailey’s fractured home life is transformed when she encounters Bird (Franz Rogowski), a mysterious stranger on a journey of his own. Utilising a mesmerising slice-of-life approach to paint an intricate and thought-provoking portrait, Bird is a superbly acted and beautifully directed film that both fits in perfectly with Arnold’s filmography and stands out against it.
Arnold is known for social realism, with her films daring to show a side of society that often goes under-explored. Bird follows suit, as we spend our run-time with Bailey, a young individual who has a rocky relationship with both parents, a sad lack of role models and no one to turn to for advice as she begins to go through puberty. Torn between raising her young siblings due to her mothers neglect and rolling with her older brother who has a proclivity for violence and trouble, Bailey is on a more difficult journey of self discovery than the average teen, with the movie doing a great job to show us how our environment and those around us truly can shape who we become, whether we follow suit or tread an opposite path. Her dad Bug doesn’t know the real her despite living under the same roof, and is too worried about making money without getting a real job and marrying his girlfriend of just a short while to pay too much attention to his kids. Her mother, who clearly suffers from substance misuse and a bad choice in partners, is also neglectful of her three youngsters and spends much of her time drinking or fighting with boyfriend Skate, whether the kids are present or not. It’s a heart-breaking world that Bird thrusts audiences into, and Arnold opts for an unadulterated view with an admirable sense of humanity and realism at its core.
Despite dealing with tough subject matter, Bird manages to provide many moments of levity that are delivered in the form of humour and heart. Despite our characters not being the most likable, there are plenty of funny interactions, humorous conversations and above all, an underlying message of hope and love that’ll likely bring a tear to your eye as the credits roll. Our characters may not show the best parenting skills, or have their morals entirely lined up, but the script has many small moments that prove love conquers all. Poor decisions are made but their hearts are in the right places, and when it really comes down to it, they are all there for each other and are just trying to get through life with the cards they’ve been dealt. It’s easy to be mad at the older characters for the poor impression they’re setting, but the film really does get you thinking about what their upbringing must have been like.
Another excellent method of filmmaking that Arnold utilises to add something fresh into her movie is magical realism, with Bird having a sparse but excitingly used fantastical element running through it. It may be hard to envision how this could fit into a story this down to earth and real, and it’s bound to divide audiences, but Arnold’s first foray into this method is admirable wherever you fall. The fantastical elements certainly have a place in the narrative, driving the metaphors forward and leaving the audience with plenty to chew on. Plus, the visuals during these scenes are a marvel, making for an intriguing final act.
If not for Andrea Arnold’s fabulous direction, many will likely be hitting play to experience another fabulous performance from Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) - they need not be disappointed. Though not quite career best, Keoghan is excellent as the chaotic, aggravating and oftentimes hilarious single dad Bug. Tattooed head to toe, using a toad to supposedly make a fortune and turning his home into a house party many nights a week, Keoghan gives a very realistic performance that genuinely feels plucked from the streets of Gravesend. In the titular role of Bird is Franz Rogowski (Passages), who gives perhaps the most memorable performance of his career to date. Playing a unique, quirky and plainly odd individual who comes back to Gravesend to hopefully find his family, Rogowski is fantastic at bringing this endearing oddball to life.
The bond that Bird forms with lead character Bailey is the films best asset, as despite the pair differing in age, background, gender and experiences, they’re on very similar journeys of self discovery and can only be described as lost souls. Their friendship is pure and beautiful, also adding further to the underlying message of hope. Speaking of our lead character, newcomer Nykiya Adams manages to make Bird her film with a flawless portrayal of Bailey. The run-time focuses purely on her experiences, and Adams is given no easy task with the complexities of Bailey’s life, but seemingly effortlessly crushes it. Just 12 at the time of filming, she is particularly impressive, and it’ll be interesting to see where her career takes her. She’s the highlight of the film.
As with any Andrea Arnold project, attention is paid to every element of the filmmaking to ensure it comes to life accordingly. Her work is often synonymous with the use of music and Bird is no exception, delivering both a memorable and fun soundtrack that compliments the tone of the movie perfectly. The music supervision is outstanding, with the songs bringing this story to life in ways that seem impossible. The sequences the tracks are placed in elevate them tenfold. The cinematography is equally beautiful, with a real focus on close-ups ensuring we are closely following our characters every step of the way. This adds a much more intimate feeling to the film and helps to put us in their shoes.
The element that helps Bird stand out alongside the rest of Arnold’s filmography, aside from the fantastical additions, are the motifs and themes that are placed throughout. The term ‘bird’ isn’t just the title of the movie and a central characters name, but it stands for the trait we want Bailey to have - strength. Birds are present throughout the entire run-time, whether we’re looking at footage Bailey has captured of them or seeing them be used to her advantage when passing a note to a friend at a time of need. Starting off quite subtly to then become more prominent as the run-time progresses, the use of birds is unique, admirable and quite frankly astounding.
Bird has undeniably been long awaited, but upon watching the movie, audiences will be pleased to learn that it’s worth said wait. The performances are perfect in their realism, with newcomer Nykiya Adams delivering a star-making performances that’s good enough to be one of the best of the year. The story is incredibly moving, providing an equal share of emotion and humour that helps it hit high on the memorability scale. For those who had a similar upbringing to Bailey, or can see elements of themselves in any of this intricately written characters, its bound to be relatable and pack a huge punch. Impressively human, commendably grounded and showcasing exactly what Andrea Arnold does best, Bird is nothing short of a triumph.
Bird is out now in cinemas
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