Andrea Arnold is a British director who specialises in realistic dramas. Her breakthrough movie, Fish Tank, examined the effects a mother’s new boyfriend has on a 15-year-old in Essex. Arnold returns to the life of people living in a tough community with Bird, a powerful tale of a young girl going through the changes while living in a squat and her surprising friendship with a man who isn’t who he seems to be. This is a film brimming with social realism of the hardships and brutal life that people have to face day in and day out, but with a ray of hope that could change. It is definitely a film that will split opinions.

Bailey is a 12-year-old living in a squat with her father, Bug and her brother, Hunter. Bailey’s life is lacking in any direction: her father is planning to marry his girlfriend, to the objection of Bailey; her mother is dating a Liverpudlian with a violent nature, and her brother is involved in a gang out for vengeance against anyone who needs a lesson learnt. Not knowing where she fits, Bailey meets a strange man, Bird, looking for his family. As the two become friends, Bird starts showing odd behaviour that could affect how she sees the world.

Arnold’s film is as raw as the society she is focusing on. Using handheld cameras, we follow this young, confused girl through the graffiti-ridden land she lives in, her room full of butterflies and blue bottles, dying flowers and cracking paintwork. This is a depraved area full of concrete with the occasional open field where Bailey finds herself escaping, as her fascination with nature is her only way out. Bug is a parent who tries to understand his daughter but cannot control her. He wants his wedding day to be the best day of his life, and yet forcing his daughter to wear a catsuit better suited for Strictly Come Dancing instead of a bridesmaid pushes her away from him even further.

Yet for all its bleakness and lack of hope in her world, as she starts changing, becoming more responsible for her younger children who live with her mother, Bailey does find a little spark in this bizarre stranger who doesn’t seem to have a care in the world, yet is often seen standing at the top of a tower block, balancing on the edge. Wanting to help him understand where he came from makes her more protective of her brothers and sisters.

Arnold has managed a delicate balance between studying a young girl coping with an unhappy life and a fantasy that helps her understand it better. This side of the film may divide audiences. We get a film you’d expect Ken Loach to have directed with an angle that completely throws that sense of realism. Arnold doesn’t shy away from the harsh life these people face either. Unexpected bouts of violence explode in the blink of an eye, and the language is as brutal as the streets where they came from. Yet as we follow Bailey through this maze of uncertainty, you cannot but feel for her having to live this life, which becomes the story’s central hub. You care what happens to her.

The performances are nearly faultless from a cast of virtual unknowns. Barry Keoghan, who is the biggest name in the film, is terrific as Bug, a tattooed-covered father desperate for a better life but not knowing how who spends his time trying to find a way to get liquid from a toad to sell as a drug. There is a nice in-joke about his Saltburn performance if you listen carefully. Franz Rogowski, as Bird, is as quirky as they come and manages to capture your heart as he searches for his missing family. It’s a nicely observed performance that, until the final act, you cannot understand why he acts as he does.

Nykiya Adams as Bailey is a revelation. She is a young actress in her debut movie who carries the film almost effortlessly. She is brimming with confidence as if she is an old pro. Her performance is full of vulnerability, innocence, and hardness as nails. It’s an exciting new face and one to watch in the future.

Bird may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and you may immediately feel confused and uncertain about it. It is, however, a film that plays on your mind, and the more you think about it, the more impressive it becomes.

4 out of 5

Director: Andrea Arnold

Starring: Nykiya Adams, Franz Rogowski, Barry Keoghan, Jason Buda, Jasmine Jobson, Frankie Box, James Nelson-Joyce, Sarah Harber

Written by Andrea Arnold

Running Time: 119 mins

Cert: 15

Release date: 8th November 2024