By John Corrado

The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 5th to 15th, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here.

Bird is another gritty, slice-of-life drama from British filmmaker Andrea Arnold, that also feels like a bit of a diversion. It is recognizably of a piece with her previous well-acted portraits of young woman from working class backgrounds (Fish Tank, American Honey), but also expands on her usual grounded, social-realist style by working in some magical realist touches.

The film follows Bailey (Nykiya Adams), a 12-year-old girl in working-class England, whose young dad Bug (Barry Keoghan) is not necessarily equipped or mature enough to support her as a young woman. Bug is more interested in getting rich selling DMT from a rare frog. The story is set in motion when Bug announces that he is getting remarried, which leaves Bailey feeling sidelined.

Bailey doesn’t connect with her new stepmother Kayleigh (Frankie Box), and her birth mother Peyton (Jasmine Jobson) is in an abusive relationship that makes her other home a toxic place to be, including for her younger siblings. This leads Bailey to develop a tentative friendship with Bird (Franz Rogowski), an odd young man who seems to appear out of nowhere in the field where she likes to go, and wants help finding his family.

This is not as major a work as Arnold’s 2016 film American Honey, her magnum opus that served as inadvertent journey through Trump-era America. While the moments of magical realism work on their own, they can feel initially a bit jarring with Arnold’s usual style (though I might just need some more time with it). But Bird still offers enough of Arnold’s usual electric filmmaking at times, including her gift for perfect needle-drops (like the way she uses Coldplay’s “Yellow,” a song that can instantly put you in a time and place).

Despite the darker subject matter of the film, there is a bit of a lyrical quality to it. The cinematography by Robbie Ryan offers free-flowing camerawork, including enchanting scenes following the characters gliding around on Bug’s electric scooter. Arnold’s adolescent lead Adams impressively carries the film with a breakout performance, while Keoghan manages to charm as the immature dad, and Rogowski offers an intriguing portrayal of the titular character.

Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)

Public Screenings: Saturday, September 7th, 3:00 PM at TIFF Lightbox; Sunday, September 8th, 11:45 AM at TIFF Lightbox; Friday, September 13th, 9:45 AM at Scotiabank Theatre; Saturday, September 14th, 9:30 AM at TIFF Lightbox