Bird

Andrea Arnold ("Fish Tank" "American Honey") has crafted another brilliant film about wayward youth living below the poverty line. The story follows 12 year old Bailey (Nykiya Adams) as her young father Bug (Barry Keoghan) announces his plan to marry to his new girlfriend. Bug would like Bailey to be a bridesmaid - pink leopard-skin, tight spandex is the wardrobe choice for bridesmaids. Bailey wants nothing to do with it. Outside her flat she discovers, Bird (Franz Rogowski "Passages") a grown man looking for his parents who used to live in Bailey's neck of the woods. Bailey's mother lives with an abusive boyfriend in a dirty flat with presumably Bailey's sisters or half sisters. The world of "Bird" is graffiti soaked; hallways, alleyways, and every building seem to be awash in hastily scrolled spray-paint. Barry Keoghan's topless frame matches: he is covered in bug tattoos; a centipede crawls up his neck and pokes onto his cheek. "Bird" is a harsh world, where vigilante justice comes in the form of a swarm of young men in clown masks armed with box cutters. But like Arnold's other films, there is a beauty here too. And humour - watching Bug and his mates sing Coldplay's "Yellow" to a toad so it excretes a psychedelic slime (Bug's get-rich scheme) is highly amusing. Arnold contrasts worlds of urban grit with almost idyllic shots of birds in flight, perhaps representing freedom, elegance, and perspective. "I wanted to see where I am," explained Bird to Bailey as to why he was standing on the roof of a tall building. This is a film, a world, where you get lost in it. It will give you a new perspective on the people living in it. Catch one of the year's best films in theatres now.   

Fish Tank

Andrea Arnold directed one of my favorite films in the last decade, "American Honey" staring Sasha Lane and Shia LaBeouf. At a runtime of 2 hours and 43 minutes, it's a beast. It's white trash America on full display, in an almost documentary style of realism. I love "American Honey." I have no explanation as to why I never bothered to seek the other films of Andrea Arnold, that is, until now. "Fish Tank" is a film from 2009. A banger, as they might say in the UK, although I believe that term is generally reserved for songs or sausages. "Fish Tank" is a banger. This is another white-trash, (Eurotrash?) fairytale about a young girl, Mia growing up with her alcoholic mother and her younger sister in a poor flat in London. Mom brings home new boyfriend, Connor (Michael Fassbender) and he turns out to be a real treat. "Fish Tank" is a dark coming of age tale and at times it's uncomfortable to watch - this film goes to dark places. It's a slow burn and I was riveted by it. Catch it streaming on Criterion or grab a copy from your local video store.