Bird
MUBI | Release Date: November 8, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
9
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
ColliderCaleb HammondMay 18, 2024
Bird ultimately reads as Arnold “playing the hits” with a narrative she fundamentally knows how to stage in her sleep. Ultimately it feels too familiar, even with the welcome magical realism additions and a hallucinogenic slime secreting toad. Arnold fans will no doubt find plenty to latch onto with Bird, but it’s unlikely to convert non-believers. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyMay 18, 2024
Personally, I couldn’t follow Arnold over the dotted line into violent magical realism, however situated it might be in a young girl’s sense of fantasy. It’s a miscalculation, like playing your weakest suit mistaking it for a trump. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 18, 2024
It meditates on identity and belonging, the poignancy of not being valued, not being seen, the transition from childhood to adulthood, girlhood to womanhood, sexism and cruelty. The energy and heartfelt good humour offset the moments of cliche and implausibility. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyMaureen Lee LenkerAug 31, 2024
Like the butterflies and pockets of natural beauty that Bailey is drawn to, there are glimmers of potential in Bird. But it never fully manages to take flight, leaving its provocative conclusion more jarring and confusing than revelatory. Read full review
58
The Film StageRory O'ConnorMay 18, 2024
The director has gestured toward magical realism in her work before (think of the white horse in Fish Tank or the elemental yearning of her Wuthering Heights) but this first foray into anthropomorphism feels strangely surface-level and does more to break the film’s spell than enhance it. Read full review
50
The Associated PressJake CoyleNov 6, 2024
Bird may go down as a rare miss for Arnold but you can still see the keenness of her eye and the nimbleness of her camera, with her regular cinematographer Robbie Ryan. And that’s true never so much as when the camera is on Adams, a talent, whose melancholy eyes say more than all the theatrics around her. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDavid RobbNov 5, 2024
As evocative as it is, the film’s use of small-town squalor as a blank canvas for artful indulgences often detracts from its purported authenticity. Read full review
50
Screen RantPatrice WitherspoonMay 28, 2024
A harrowing narrative that contemplates the transition from girlhood to womanhood, Arnold uses magical realism to capture preteen angst with a strong desire for existential freedom. Read full review
50
VarietyOwen GleibermanMay 18, 2024
The film is Arnold trying to have the integrity of her severity and eat it too. Bird is a feel-bad movie that turns into a feel-good movie. What it never feels like is a totally authentic movie. Read full review
More From This Movie

74 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL