It's been nearly a decade since the Kent-born writer-director Andrea Arnold last made a feature film, said Dave Calhoun in Time Out: after 2016's "American Honey", she dived into a load of TV directing work in the US and, in 2021, she made the "arresting, experimental" documentary "Cow". Now, for "Bird", she has returned to the "suburban edgelands of Kent" that were the setting of her breakout film "Fish Tank".
Nykiya Adams plays 12-year-old Bailey, who lives in a squat with her chaotic, "tattooed-to-the-eyeballs" dad (Barry Keoghan). Early one morning, she meets Bird (played by the German actor Franz Rogowski), a "spirit-like, compassionate outsider" who spends his time perching on buildings, and who gradually reveals to Bailey that he has mysterious magical powers. Swerving between "upsetting, dark realism and something much more magical, even quasi-biblical", the film skilfully balances "a fearless focus on life's tough realities with a hefty dollop of teary sentiment".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Striking homes with indoor poolsFeature Featuring a Queen Anne mansion near Chicago and mid-century modern masterpiece in Washington
-
Why are federal and local authorities feuding over investigating ICE?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Minneapolis has become ground zero for a growing battle over jurisdictional authority
-
‘Even those in the United States legally are targets’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Striking homes with indoor pools
Feature Featuring a Queen Anne mansion near Chicago and mid-century modern masterpiece in Washington
-
One great cookbook: Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson’s ‘Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes’the week recommends The beauty and wonder of great ingredients and smart cooking
-
Film reviews: ‘No Other Choice,’ ‘Dead Man’s Wire,’ and ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’Feature A victim of downsizing turns murderous, an angry Indiana man takes a lender hostage, and a portrait of family by way of three awkward gatherings
-
Courgette and leek ijeh (Arabic frittata) recipeThe Week Recommends Soft leeks, tender courgette, and fragrant spices make a crisp frittata
-
A modern ‘Lord of the Flies,’ a zombie sequel and Jodie Foster’s first French-speaking lead role in January moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘The Plague,’ ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ and ‘A Private Life’
-
How to rekindle a reading habitThe Week Recommends Fall in love with reading again, or start a brand new relationship with it
-
Avatar: Fire and Ash – third instalment feels like ‘a relic of an earlier era’Talking Point Latest sequel in James Cameron’s passion project is even ‘more humourless’ than the last
-
The Zorg: meticulously researched book is likely to ‘become a classic’The Week Recommends Siddharth Kara’s harrowing account of the voyage that helped kick-start the anti-slavery movement
