Bird (2024)
Directed by: Andrea Arnold
Premise: Bailey (Nykiya Adams) bounces between her father (Barry Keoghan), who lives in a squalid apartment, and her mother (Jasmine Jobson) who shares a house with an abusive boyfriend. Bailey meets Bird (Franz Rogowski), a man searching for his father, and they confront each other’s families.
What Works: Filmmaker Andrea Arnold often creates stories that are set in the economic and cultural margins as seen in Fish Tank and American Honey. Similar to those films, Bird follows a twelve-year-old girl living an unstable and impoverished existence between two dysfunctional homes. Bird is most successful as a character study of Bailey and an immersive portrait of her socioeconomic strata. This is not poverty tourism. The filmmakers approach this material with a genuine interest in these characters and how they make their way through life. Bailey is fascinating in that she is on the verge of adulthood and starts facing the problems unique to teenagers and women; she has her first period, deals with romantic interests, and must take responsibility for her moral choices. One of the most alarming aspects of Bird is a subplot of local teenagers who assault adults they believe are immoral people; the fact of their target’s immorality is uncertain but Bailey considers siccing them on her mother’s abusive boyfriend. Meanwhile, Bailey meets Bird who is portrayed with both humanity and playfulness by Franz Rogowski. Bailey and Bird are an unlikely pair but they find a commonality in their family dramas and they help one another make peace with their parents. This theme of home and family runs throughout the various stories and subplots and Bird implicitly asks us to consider what relationships can or should be preserved and what family means to us.
What Doesn’t: Bird takes a fantastic turn in the end. The twist is foreshadowed but it is also at odds with the very realistic style of the rest of the film. This fantastic element is visualized in a way that is consistent with the naturalistic style of the rest of Bird but its very presence is at odds with the scope and tone of the movie. It pushes Bird from a slice of life drama into something more like a fairytale and Bird is diminished for it. The fantastic reveal cheapens the power of the movie in part because it is a deus ex machina resolution that robs Bailey of her agency. The ending also steps away from the harsh realities of life to create a happy ending. The conclusion is uplifting but it feels inconsistent with everything that preceded it.
Bottom Line: Bird is an absorbing drama that takes viewers into the lives of its characters. Although the film makes debatable storytelling choices in the end, Bird succeeds as a portrait of a community and as a coming-of-age tale.
Episode: #1029 (December 29, 2024)