Head of Reviews Robert Flynn reviews Andrea Arnold’s newest film Bird and the journey of discovery Arnold takes us on
Bird (2024) has all the traditional Andrea Arnold trademarks that you might expect. The relationship and parallels between animals and man, invasive handheld camerawork, and a young, defiant female protagonist are all integral aspects of director Arnold’s latest film. However, there is one major deviation from the familiar milieu that is so distinctly Arnold’s vision. The use of smartphones, a subject which most contemporary directors tend to avoid, is central to the thematics at play in Bird. Arnold’s Fish Tank (2009) and American Honey (2016) each deal with identity and expression in their own right, yet by looking through the phone screen, Arnold focuses on these themes more than ever before.
12 year old Bailey (Nykiya Adams) drifts around North Kent, armed with her phone. She captures birds slicing through the clouds and butterflies clasped against window frames. At home, she squats in a dilapidated building with her ignorant and eccentric father Bug (Barry Keoghan) and her laconic half-brother Hunter (Jason Buda). In her room, Bailey projects the footage she has captured onto her wall, projections of various animals breathe life and colour into her dull and seemingly hopeless surroundings.
With intimate and revealing closeups as well as enthralling wide shots where Bird peers down from the top of buildings, Rogowski builds character through these poetic compositions.
Bailey has become increasingly frustrated with her life slipping out of her control, and responds by continuously slipping away from her family’s building. One night Bailey falls asleep in a field. She meets Bird (Franz Rogowski), an enigmatic and wondrous individual who prances across the fields, his pleated skirt and colourful cardigan swaying with him in the wind. His androgynous appearance and adoration for nature resembles Bailey, who presents herself in masculine attire. Bird reminds her of how glorious the field looks in the morning glow of the sun. However, despite Bird’s blissful demeanour, he feels incomplete. He is in search of his family.
Arnold and Irish cinematographer Robbie Ryan capture Bird in much the same way that Bailey records the natural elements on her phone. With intimate and revealing closeups as well as enthralling wide shots where Bird peers down from the top of buildings, Rogowski builds character through these poetic compositions. Bird is a soulful and calming presence who lacks any sense of insecurity. Rogowski presents these attributes through subtle glances, a relaxed posture and a warm smile. Using minimal dialogue, Rogowski makes Bird feel like compassion incarnate purely through showing Franz Rogowski’s incredible physical acting ability.
Bird is perhaps her most complicated and strange work, but her connection to capturing the ease and comfort of the natural world and the lives of animals feels stronger than ever.
As Bird and Bailey grow closer, they forge a meaningful rapport that exists outside of the ideals that they concern themselves so greatly with; gender and family. Arnold creates a film which suggests that identity and expression do not need to be found through traditional means. Bailey attempts to make sense of her gender while Bird searches for his familial roots. While they try to find meaning in gender and family, they find that their bond transcends these values. We can find ourselves in any aspect of life; through artistic expression or by defying societal constructs. To Arnold, the way in which a horse trods through a field is just as vital.
The character of Bird is one of the most fascinating characters shown on screen this year, so the film can struggle to replicate the same magic when Rogowski is not baring his soul. For a filmmaker who often goes back to the same well of ideas, Arnold has found new avenues to express her ideas. Bird is perhaps her most complicated and strange work, but her connection to capturing the ease and comfort of the natural world and the lives of animals feels stronger than ever. Everything unfolds in an unexpected manner as Bailey tries to reconcile her family matters with her need to find and express herself. When the camera comes to an unexpected halt and Rogowski looks stoically into the distance, Bird feels like Arnold’s most transcendent work to date.