Bailey seeks attention and adventure elsewhere
Narrative
Bailey lives with her brother Hunter and her father Bug, who raises them alone in a workhouse in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for them. Barry Keoghan left Gladiator II (2024) to star in this film.
Assembled at Fontaines DC: Bug (2024)
“Bird” has similarities to Andrea Arnold’s previous film “Fishtank,” in which an alienated teenager puts herself in grave danger while trying to escape loneliness and domestic dysfunction. In this new work, Arnold focuses on preteen Bailey, who lives in a chaotic workhouse with her father and older brother. Her father, Bug, plans to marry his crazy new girlfriend, while her worried mother lives nearby in even worse conditions with a brutally aggressive boyfriend, a group of Bailey’s younger siblings, and a suffering puppy named Dave.
After an argument with Bug, Bailey follows the trail of a gang of street kids involved in some random crime
None of the adults in her universe seem capable of giving her any guidance, leaving Bailey to forge her own path. After evading the police, sleeping in a field, and being awakened by a horse, he encounters a kilt-clad stranger named Bird. This eccentric drifter was born in the area, raised elsewhere, and is trying to find a father he barely remembers.
After some hesitation, Bailey decides to help him
Nykiya Adams gives a bold and compelling performance in the title role as Bailey’s pursuit of Bird’s mission is mixed with other digressions, distractions, and subplots. His seemingly aimless wanderings eventually reach a moment of revelation, which is depicted in a remarkable passage in which the film briefly departs from gritty realism and enters the realm of fantasy. Arnold somehow manages to pull off this trick, transforming his urban drama into a vivid and memorable fairy tale.