Bird

"Is it too real for ya?"

2024 1h 59m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 242

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

12-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids, and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere.

“Is it too real for ya?”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Nykiya Adams
Bailey
Franz Rogowski
Bird
Barry Keoghan
Bug
Jason Buda
Hunter
Jasmine Jobson
Peyton
Frankie Box
Kayleigh
James Nelson-Joyce
Skate
Jason Williamson
Fred

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Andrea Arnold
Writers: Andrea Arnold
Languages: Hungarian, English
Countries: France, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Hungarian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Andrea Arnold, shot by Robbie Ryan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Burial. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Joe Bini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Nykiya Adams and Franz Rogowski and Barry Keoghan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Is it too real for ya?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Andrea Arnold directs. Robbie Ryan behind the camera. Burial scores. Joe Bini cuts. Produced in France, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Hungarian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 2 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Hungarian, English.
3International production across 3 countries: France, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Andrea Arnold, shot by Robbie Ryan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Burial. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Joe Bini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Nykiya Adams and Franz Rogowski and Barry Keoghan carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Is it too real for ya?".
9IMDB entry: tt28277817 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 18 themes, including "grave", "coming of age", "domestic abuse", "female protagonist".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robbie Ryan
Original score: Burial
Editing: Joe Bini
Production design: Maxine Carlier
Costume design: Alex Bovaird
Makeup / hair: Ashra Kelly-Blue
Sound: Cyril Holtz
Runtime: 119 min · 1h 59m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,945,200
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Bird (2024)

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Andrea Arnold

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-11-10
★ 7/10
There are two lovely performances to enjoy in this story of the twelve year old "Bailey" (Nykiya Adams). She lives in a squat with her dad "Bug" (Barry Keoghan), brother "Hunter" (Jason Buda) and her soon-to-be stepmum "Kayleigh" (Frankie Box). It's that impending wedding, and the wearing of a pretty garish pink cat-suit, that puts her at odds with her well-meaning dad and sees her left to amuse herself amidst the fields of Kent. It's there that she encounters the rather enigmatic "Bird" (Franz Rogowski) who is looking for his parents who lived in a Gravesend tower block near her home. She decides to try and help this rather quirky chap and quickly their lives become curiously linked as we discover that her mother (Jasmine Jobson) is struggling through an abusive relationship with boyfriend "Skate" (James Nelson-Joyce) whilst also trying to bring up three youngsters. With the quest for her new friend's parents, her desire to help her mum and siblings and her dad's pressure to engage with his own hopes for happiness, the young "Bailey" hasn't her challenges to seek. Keoghan features energetically as he zips around the housing estates on his e-scooter, and his character serves well to help keep the main characterisations going - and it's on that front there's a charmingly understated chemistry developed between Adams and Rogowski that mixes their respective back-stories with a soupçon of the mystic and plenty of allegorical imagery to introduce quite elusive themes of freedom, family and quite frequently fun, too. There are also some fairly violent undertones, and we are left in no doubt that her life and that of her family has been and will remain fairly turbulent - but those points are not brought to us via a sledge-hammer, more by gentle observation and development of engaging personalities that evolve gently but potently over a couple of hours. It's a slow burn, but it works.
Manuel São Bento2024-11-19
★ 6/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/bird-review-a-thoughtful-study-of-the-fragile-line-between-innocence-and-adolescence/ "Bird is a raw, honest portrayal that, despite some pacing issues and a challenging blend of fantasy and reality, offers a deeply human experience elevated by Nykiya Adams' impressively genuine performance. Andrea Arnold controls her original narrative with an intimate, sensitive lens on the struggles and inner conflicts of a young girl in transition, highlighting both the complexities of adolescence and the fragile beauty of childhood innocence. For those who find themselves captivated by Bailey's introspection and vulnerability, Bird will undoubtedly be a poignant, lasting story." Rating: B-
badelf2024-12-25
★ 9/10
Andrea Arnold's return to fiction filmmaking with Bird is nothing short of magical. I'm admittedly biased — give me a dash of magic surrealism and I'm already halfway to being won over. But Bird soars well beyond mere genre appeal. At its heart, this is a coming-of-age story centered on Bailey, portrayed by newcomer Nykiya Adams in what can only be described as a revelation of a performance. It's not just me gushing here — Adams has already collected five Breakthrough Performance awards, and rightfully so. There's something raw and undeniable in her presence that makes me certain we'll be seeing much more of her. The film follows Arnold's characteristic focus on young women living on society's margins, but this time through a lens that feels both fresh and familiar. Franz Rogowski (honestly, is there a thoughtful European indie he's not in?) brings his trademark subtlety to his role as Bailey's counterpart. The rest of the supporting cast holds their own admirably, creating a world that feels lived-in and authentic. But it's Arnold's underlying optimism that really gets me. Throughout the film, she weaves this beautiful thread about the nature of love — how we all love differently, imperfectly, sometimes messily. And that's okay. More than okay, actually. It's a profound truth that some of us spend decades trying to understand: that love, in whatever form it takes, doesn't need to meet some arbitrary standard to be valid. The way Arnold brings this message home — through her distinctive visual style and moments of subtle magic — well, it just works. Really works. Though I should mention the somewhat dizzying handheld camerawork in the opening scenes nearly threw me off. But perhaps that's fitting for a film about imperfect love — even its minor flaws feel purposeful, like they're part of the larger truth Arnold is sharing with us. By the time the credits rolled, I found myself sitting there, a bit misty-eyed, thinking about all the different ways people manage to love each other in this complicated world of ours. Not perfect? Sure. That's rather the point, isn't it?