Bird is a 2024 coming of age drama following Bailey, a 12 year old girl who lives in a very poor environment around Kent and spends most of her time escaping into the depths of the city and recording events on her phone that mean something to her. However, her father Bug (Barry Keoghan) expects his daughter to attend a wedding with another woman, then after Bailey runs away she comes across a mysterious man named Bird (Franz Rogowski) that then resorts to a powerful story about friendship and family all in poverty.
Of course this is a very well made film, and it didn't seem it needed much budget to do so with it's breakout performances from a new generation of actors. But this film is definitely not for everyone as the whole entirety of it's runtime does consist of exploring these types of dangerous environments and the positives surrounding it. I think it definitely did it's job to convey a thoughtful message with stand out performances that really do make a impact and I can respect it for that.
However, my personal opinion, I really dislike the characters and I mean yeah they're accurate but I literally see people like this every day and I cannot really forgive the actions most of the people do in this movie. While some scenes with them are very funny, I can't really resonate or make peace of what some of the characters do in this film, and I hated Bug's character too definitely a annoying but realistic portrayal of people and fathers like him. But the acting is very good though, my favourite character Bird doesn't really have a lot of lines, however he doesn't need to. Also I would most certainly not encourage little children to talk to and follow a random stranger, but Bird is an escapism for these kids and isn't what you think he is.
Overall, I would never watch this again, I don't think this is a film to be seen in the big screen it's more of a one to watch at home. Bird does have decent performances, humour and great scenes but I did not like most of the characters even Bailey was annoying but I think that's the point though, to show that people like them are real and actually live like this so I think that's a good message but don't watch this in the cinema, I just don't think it's that captivating to be honest and also the runtime could be adjusted as I think it carried on a tad too long, but I wouldn't recommend to be in a rush to see this one.
Grade: B
London Film Festival 20th October.
