(**1/2) 

She’s got a thing for birds. They’re like the guardian angels she needs to watch over her. 

Bailey (Nykiya Adams) has it rough. As the 12-year-old daughter of a wacky rocked out dad named Bug (Barry Keogan, The Banashees of Inisherin) and sister to a teen half-brother named Hunter (Jason Buda) who’s an amateur vigilante, she isn’t getting much direction in life. Not good direction. Living in the projects in Kent, a county in South East England, is a dismal, aimless existence. All kinds of people are trapped in poverty—and few have an avenue out. She can’t count on her drugged-out mom for guidance, who lives elsewhere, because she lives with an abusive boyfriend. Mom neglects Bailey’s terrorized little brother and sisters, and she won’t be mothering Bailey either. What’s a girl to do?

Nice premise. Odd characters. Director/writer Andrea Arnold (American Honey) gets the gist of this coming-of-age story right. Peppering it with comedy, drama and fantasy. Easy to like Bailey and her wandering and adventurous spirit as she tries to latch on to something. Juvenile crime. Family. Friendships. The location is fairly realistic. The kid’s hard knock life is substantiated. She’s got responsibilities beyond her age. Little governance. Audiences like a vulnerable protagonist in need of help. The kind the can that can move them.  

The adolescent drama slowly loses its sheen until it gets a jolt from the entrance of a lost-in-life character. A quirky, skirt-wearing man named Bird (Franz Rogowski, Passages). The friendship between interloper and the tween changes the film’s direction. For the better. Grim reality turns into fantasy that’s hard to explain but a joy to watch. 

Bailey is an odd duck. Strong but bewildered. Prone to following, being spontaneous and unpredictable. Adams makes this lead character inquisitive and curious to watch. Keogan overdoes the narcissistic dad who’s more concerned with his happiness than his kids’ ambitions. There is something very eccentric about Rogowski and the way he plays characters. Always an undercurrent. A mystery.  

Arnold’s direction of the material is better than the material. Were it not for the stranger, this story would be one-note. Yet Adams makes the footage fun to watch. Robbie Ryan’s cinematography follows Bailey around like it’s making a Tik Tok video for bored teens. The insides of Bailey’s home seem chaotic, which is a credit to production designer Maxine Carlier and set decorator Jo Berglund. Alex Bovaird’s costumes are as eccentric as the cast. Easy to like the music playlist too. 

Can’t guess where this story is headed. That’s Arnold’s plan, which is evidenced when the weirdness intensifies, and realty flies out the window headed towards the moon. 

Last-minute flourishes save the audience from what could have been 1h 59m of constant hardship and struggle. In the end, the film takes flight. Wait for it.  

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXn694Of4d8
Photo courtesy of Toronto International Film Festival.
For more information about the Toronto International Film Festival go to https://tiff.net/. 
Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.