‘Bird’ Is A Progressive Film Of Different Feathers
Photo by Andrea Arnold A bird begins with what might sound like chaos: 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams) films a flock of seabirds on her phone. They fly high above the shores of the British county of Kent, near the apartment building where Bailey lives with Hunter (Jason Buda), the brother of a gang member, and Bug (Barry Keough), the child of he has a tattoo. father. And judging by the way this young cinematographer has framed his subjects between the fences, it looks like he’s looking at them through a cell window. Bailey, too, would like to feel as free as those celestial beings. You naturally assume that the title is about him, in the strongest possible way. It is the one that wants to spread its wings and fly, fly.
But no, there really is a character called Bird, who happens in his life in an unusual way. Bailey has just found out that his father is marrying his new girlfriend, Kayleigh (Frankie Box), he is to wear a purple leopard-skin cat as a bridesmaid, and the child is not having one. As an act of rebellion, Bailey shaves his head. He also sees Hunter hacking a fellow teenager’s face, then leaves the scene of the crime.
And that’s when he meets a stranger (Franz Rogowski) wearing a dress, wandering around the square. This journey with “Bird” begins to confuse Bailey. Then she starts to stand up and dance like a witch on her camera, before she can jump. Later, he sees her sitting in a corner several flights up, looking at everything around her. (At a press conference after the film premiered in Cannes, Arnold said the film opened with a shot of “a very tall, thin man with a long penis standing on a roof.” We can confirm that much, but not every aspect of that vision made it to the screen.) There’s something about him that Bailey can’t shake. He recognizes an outsider when he sees one.
A British filmmaker with a knack for making the environment of everyday people look fun and expressive, Arnold seems to be in his comfort zone for years to come – thanks to the power of between Thirty Bird and between Bailey, too. like the character of the crew, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a similar piece to his. Fish Tank (2009). Like bird, the film also benefited greatly from the restless, manic filmography of his longtime collaborator Robbie Ryan; a central performance from a newcomer with raw talent and screen presence to burn; and a good, popular actor gives a bad example of a man.
This time, the father figure is more manipulative than beast, and Keough commits to relying on the character’s extreme immaturity. Bug is a bit of a grifter, and his biggest get-rich-quick scheme is to sell the hallucinogenic English secrets he’s ordered by mail from Colorado. (Told that amphibians “slime” when listening to pop music, his partners suggested they put on “Murder on the Dance Floor.” Saltburn (The joke may not be intentional, but it’s still funny to hear Keough yell off-screen, “Hey, I love that song!”) He and Rogowski, whose Bird is not the first father than a person with negative feelings – and he, In fact, with the goal of finding his father who died long ago – help to get out these animals around Adams that sting, pent-up pubescent. As for the young player at the center of it all, we hope this is the start of a long, fruitful career for him.
Barry Keough in ‘The Bird.’
Robbie Ryan/Wicked
There are bits and pieces of the plot surrounding Arnold’s vision of a kid growing up hard and fast in the wilderness of youth, from Bailey’s romance with joining Hunter’s vigilante group to his interactions with his mother. home (Jasmine Jobson) and the boyfriend’s domestic abuser. (James Nelson-Joyce). Mostly, though, it’s Bailey and her new, unusual friend, traversing the streets of Kent, sitting in graffiti-filled flats or talking to real locals across town. For a long time, A bird it’s still the same as another dirty kitchen drama, full of suspense, silence, dignity and – courtesy of one of Arnold’s many visual cues – the ship more than sometimes it is very close, but it is very far. .
That is, until it deviates too much from the storytelling tradition of UK Miserabism 101. There are real magic dolls sprinkled throughout, if you know how to look for them. There are also doubts about the true nature of the stranger, who seems kind and borders on kooky. Let’s just say those doubts are confirmed, it’s done in a way that’s brilliant, disruptive, and stylish, and you either go big with this pivot or you don’t. A bird may be the most divisive film of Andrea Arnold’s career, and we include the stunning 2011 adaptation of. Wuthering Heights. But like everything he’s done so far, it’s also rewarding in unexpected ways – the kind of film that taps into an endless reservoir of sympathy as much as it horrifies you.
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