We have two English-language items with two very different price tags in today’s double pairing for the competition. The first item out of the gate (that caused several of our critics scheduling issues) was the latest film by Andrea Arnold. A Cannes perennial favorite, she has won three consecutive Jury Prize awards for Red Road, Fish Tank, American Honey. Following the Cannes Premiere selected docu Cow (2021), we find Bird which clocked in at the two hour mark.
Gist: This follows a 12-year-old (Nykiya Adams) who lives with her brother and single dad (Barry Keoghan) in a squat in North Kent. As she approaches puberty she seeks attention and adventure elsewhere. The drudgery of everyday life is thrown off kilter when she meets Bird (Franz Rogowski).
Current temperature: As usual with Arnold cinema we have the signature elements – animal kingdom (open nature, pets), shaky hand-held Robbie Ryan camerawork, aimless and stubborn youth and even a little bit of Murder at the Disco for good measure. On our Critics’ Grid in 2016, American Honey received an average score of 2.7. This time out, with only eight scores, we are in the same neighborhood with a 2.8. We expect more grades by midday tomorrow.
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