BIRD

Andrea Arnold’s latest film tries to find a balance between social realism, visual poetry and escapist fantasy, but despite an excellent lead performance by Nykiya Adams struggles to make you care.

British director Andrea Arnold has carved out an interesting niche for herself with films about youthful protagonist daring to dream about better lives despite dire circumstances. Bird thus fits snugly in her filmography, but despite adding some magical realist touches it’s also perhaps the safest, least surprising film of Arnold’s career.

The picture’s protagonist is 12-year-old Bailey, who lives with her squatting dad and yearns to be free as a bird. When Bailey encounters a mysterious stranger, looking for the father he never knew, she plunges into an adventure that will confront her with the dangers and challenges lurking in the corners of her everyday life.

From a visual perspective Bird is an Andrea Arnold film through and through. The director uses hand-held shots, splices in footage from cell phone cameras and incorporates the gritty reality of the characters in her cinematic approach. It’s not that exciting to look at, but theme and execution do go hand in hand, so if you’re in the mood for realism, you’ll get your fix.

Intriguingly Arnold sprinkles in some fantastical elements that are never fully explained, but reveal a deeper connection between Bailey and birds. In the third act this blossoms into outright fantasy in a handful of scenes yet the gimmick feels forced and lacks thematic or emotional poignancy, right up to the enigmatic final shot of the film, which could have come straight out of Iñárritu’s Birdman.

Add supporting characters that hew too close to clichéd poverty porn and subplots that you’ve seen handled much better in Ken Loach films and you’re left with a film that struggles to fly, despite an impressive performance by young actress Nykiya Adams, who commands the screen and easily trumps the picture’s biggest name in the cast, Barry Keoghan.

release: 2024

director: Andrea Arnold

starring: Nykiya Adams, Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski, Jason Buda