Little Birds
Millennium Entertainment | Release Date: August 17, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
41
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
5
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanAug 29, 2012
An alienated-teen movie that surfs along on the whims and casual cruelties of its central character runs a risk: It can wind up as random and undisciplined as she is. Instead, Little Birds is a touching and distinctive achievement. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsStaff (Not credited)Aug 29, 2012
The imagery is consistently striking and the themes, if well-worn, do often ring true. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeySep 14, 2012
Breathtaking moments give way to boring ones; searing emotions vie with the exceedingly bland. Read full review
42
The PlaylistGabe ToroAug 30, 2012
Temple and Panabaker are quite good in their lead roles, to the point where you start to hate the fact that the movie's thesis thrives on the girls being damned if they do, and damned if they don't. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonAug 28, 2012
The dialogue is as stock as the characters, and James's visual palette never surpasses the adequate. Read full review
40
Time OutEric HynesAug 28, 2012
The problem is that screen mayhem has a tendency to translate as hip posturing, and Little Birds' scenes of shoplifting shenanigans and pistol-whipping showdowns all too readily conform to indie-film form and style. Read full review
38
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeAug 30, 2012
None of the actors has the heft to elevate this rote material, though to be fair, the task may be impossible. The dreamy shots of a poisoned sea in Little Birds show an imagination sorely missing from its drab plot and characters. Read full review
30
The New York TimesA.O. ScottAug 28, 2012
I don't think Mr. James intended to make a creepy, exploitative movie about teenage runaways - or, for that matter, a moralistic, cautionary tale of girls gone bad. But those are the default categories that Little Birds stumbles toward, perhaps because the filmmaker has not found a cogent way to channel his curiosity or his empathy. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineNick SchagerAug 13, 2012
A film of precious, romanticized misery and squalor. Read full review
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