Just shy of thirty miles from London lies Kent, a neighboring county where the disparity between its working and upper-class citizens is substantial. It was here in a town called Dartford that writer-director Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, Cow) grew up as the eldest of four children to teen parents, and it’s also where her latest film, Bird, takes place. This is her first narrative feature since 2016’s American Honey and is one of her most personal works to date. Evidently authentic and nonexploitative, Bird holds a mirror up to the societal grittiness of the English underbelly through the eyes of a child forced to grow up too quickly under the burden of inconsistency.
We first meet 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams) in a moment of brief solitude as she wanders a bridge over the top of railway tracks, her only company being a lone seagull. The quietness of this intimate introduction is punctured by the arrival of her father, Bug (Barry Keoghan), an everyday working-class man with plenty of ink to show. The pair’s commute home finds them zipping down the high street on an e-scooter. Dangling from the scooter’s handlebars is a Poundstretcher bag holding a “Drug Toad,” its hallucinogenic slime being the source of Bug’s street hustle. As Bailey and her dad make their way home to the tune of ‘Too Real’ by Fontaines D.C., we get the notion that this is just another day in her hard-knock life.
Bailey’s disjointed family from her father Bug’s side includes her half-brother Hunter (Jason Buda), Bug’s girlfriend Kayleigh (Frankie Box), and Kayleigh’s baby daughter. They live in a derelict building reminiscent of an abandoned construction site. With crumbling walls swallowed by graffiti and opaque curtains used to separate rooms, there is little to no privacy for Bailey, who is beginning to come of age. Bug soon reveals that he and Kayleigh are to be married in a mere number of days, and Bailey is to be a bridesmaid. This causes the young girl to retreat both physically and emotionally. She does manage to find some solace in her older half-brother, though, even attempting to follow him and his friends around.
Ignoring Hunter’s advice one day, Bailey finds herself fleeing from the police. When she reaches a secluded field, Bailey airs out her frustration and rage, feeling redundant to all whom she quietly craves love from the most. The next morning, Bailey awakes in the very same field, but she is no longer alone. She’s accompanied by an odd man dressed in a skirt and sweater who softly introduces himself as Bird (Franz Rogowski). Despite his peculiar appearance, he’s a kind soul who is simply trying to find his family. Reluctance leads to curiosity as Bailey sees Bird standing on the roof of the council flat building outside her bedroom window that same night. She decides to help Bird reunite with his parents, which eventually leads us to Bailey’s mother, Peyton (Jasmine Jobson), whose abusive boyfriend, Skate (James Nelson-Joyce), is terrorizing the lives of her two younger half-sisters.
Being an older sister brings Bailey such joy, and yet plagues her with responsibility. With the help of Bird, she sneaks her younger sisters out of their barbaric household and plans a targeted attack that goes wrong. This brings Andrea Arnold’s Bird full circle as a story about the contradictions of the human psyche. We often crave love so badly that we resort to isolation or employ artificial confidence to mask fear. While we may be flawed, we are still worthy of stability and feeling wanted. Despite Bird’s arrival unsettling Bailey initially, his ongoing presence gradually breaks her guard down. Through their bond, it’s clear that Bird is the first person in Bailey’s life who actively seeks her company rather than pushing her away.
Bird’s tender demeanor omits warmth and his confidence remains strong, even though he’s also plagued by sorrowful family circumstances. After meeting him, Bailey is no longer alone, perhaps for the first time ever. Andrea Arnold’s Bird reinforces that family is chosen, not merely assigned. For the most part, it’s an understated and viscerally intimate vision from the British director. It’s somber, but not bleak. At times, we view the world through the lens of Bailey’s iPhone camera, emphasizing her point of view. There are moments of pure joy, including a timely, tongue-in-cheek joke about how Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s hit ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ was brought back into popularity, which we know is thanks to star Barry Keoghan’s most recent movie, Saltburn. Besides these fleeting cheerful moments, Arnold keeps a consistent empathetic and reflective tone throughout the film.
Franz Rogowski (Passages) is eternally endearing as Bird and continues to prove how diverse and sincere his performances are. Following Saltburn and The Banshees of Inisherin, Barry Keoghan continues his streak of playing complex characters and manages to sell himself well as a troubled young father. However, it is the young actors who truly carry this cast. Andrea Arnold’s Bird gives newcomer Nykiya Adams her feature debut role, and she leads the entire movie with vigor. Adams crafts a performance that is valiant and will hopefully be a springboard for the rest of her career. Moreover, she captures the innocence of childhood, as well as the anxieties of early girlhood, in a painfully honest way that stays true to Arnold’s script.
As Bird reaches closer to its conclusion, it strays slightly from naturalism to surrealism, encouraging the audience to interpret what is real and what is a figment of Bailey’s imagination. The final scene paints a picture of hope for Bailey, who is forever changed by Bird’s short but sweet presence in her life, not to mention giving Barry Keoghan a new dancing scene (this time set to ‘Cotton Eyed Joe‘) to add to his growing collection. Filmmaker Andrea Arnold leaves us with the sentiment that the kids, regardless of life’s trivial circumstances, are going to be all right.
Bird premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival!
Release Date: TBA.
Directed by Andrea Arnold.
Written by Andrea Arnold.
Produced by Lee Groombridge, Juliette Howell, & Tessa Ross.
Main Cast: Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski, Nykiya Adams, Jason Buda, Frankie Box, Jasmine Jobson, Joanne Matthews, James Nelson-Joyce, & Sarah Beth Harber.
Cinematographer: Robbie Ryan.
Production Companies: BBC Film, BFI, Access Entertainment, House Productions, Ad Vitam, Arte France Cinéma, Ciné+, Canal+, FirstGen Content, & Pinky Promise.
Distributor: Mubi (United Kingdom and Ireland).
Runtime: 119 minutes.
