Bird

Following Dog, Wasp, Fish Tank and Cow, revolutionary British director Andrea Arnold presents yet another animal title, premiering at the Cannes festival that had hitherto awarded each of her narrative submissions the Jury Prize, before screening at London Film Festival.

12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams) is shocked to learn that her father Bug (Barry Keoghan) plans to get married to his girlfriend of three months. Avoiding the squat they live in after a fight, she meets the mysteriously cheery Bird (Franz Rogowski), who has troubling family concerns of his own.

The feature introduces incredibly specific elements, which appear mind-bogglingly random at first (for instance, Bug wanting to fund his wedding with psychoactive toad slime) but tie the story together in a beautiful patchwork. Instead of relying on universally familiar circumstances calculated to be relatable, it is the very lack thereof that gives viewers the distinct impression of watching truthful glimpses of life unfold before their eyes.

Arnold’s signature blend of non-professional actors bolstered by established arthouse darlings complement each other phenomenally and boost the texture of each character in their interactions. There is an innate strangeness to human behaviour that Arnold allows her cast to tap into, giving Keoghan and Rogowski a tailor-made platform to shine despite the film’s focus on the young protagonists’ coming-of-age.

Irish cinematographer Robbie Ryan’s camerawork (also the DoP for Kinds of Kindness) precisely reflects the gritty environment these people live in. The way his shots come together in the edit is less focused on the expectation of continuity than it is on revealing the moments in which character’s souls are laid bare.

The fact that Bailey records a number of encounters with her phone as a protective mechanism is not only reflected but practically honoured by the screen occasionally switching to her clips, before resuming in the regular pricklingly grainy film format.

Expanding upon the social realism Arnold is known for, Bird marks an extraordinarily empathic journey into the poetry and magic of working-class lives, a must-see for fans of European cinema!

Selina Sondermann

Bird is released on 8^th November 2024.

Watch the trailer for Bird here: