Bird

Play trailer

1:41

Bird

R

2024

1h 59m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

138 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

The long-awaited return to fiction filmmaking from Academy Award-winner Andrea Arnold (American Honey, Fish Tank), BIRD is a tender, striking and extraordinarily surprising coming-of-age fable about marginalized life in the fringes of contemporary society. 12-year-old Bailey (astounding newcomer Nykiya Adams) lives with her devoted but chaotic single dad Bug (Barry Keoghan, Saltburn) and wayward brother Hunter in a squat in Gravesend, north Kent. Approaching puberty and seeking attention and adventure, Bailey's fractured home life is transformed when she encounters Bird (Franz Rogowski, Passages), a mysterious stranger on a journey of his own. A wondrous portrait of the transition from childhood to adolescence that remains grounded in her typically empathetic social realism, Arnold's latest strides to the wildly poetic rhythm of her own drum.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Director Andrea Arnold strikes a coming-of-age chord through Nykiya Adams' moving performance, marrying fantasy and reality to the dizzying end.

Read Critics Reviews

Ela Bittencourt

Sight & Sound

Dec 31

Newcomer Nykiya Adams triumphs as Bailey, commingling edginess, tenderness, and introspection; so do Barry Keoghan, whose Bug is as big-hearted and droll as he is hapless, and Rogowski, who delivers Bird’s stoic poise with a wispy softness.

Go to Full Review

Wenlei Ma

The Nightly (AU)

03/01/2025

3/5

Bird frequently feels as if we’re in an extended vignette where we’re tagging along for a ride with no beginning, middle or end.

Go to Full Review

Stephen Romei

The Australian

02/21/2025

3.5/5

This film is an interesting shift for the director in that it adds magical realism to the social realism that underpins previous works such as Fish Tank (2009) and American Honey (2016).

Go to Full Review

Mel Campbell

ScreenHub

Dec 29

I’m still exhilarated by how deftly Arnold infuses her trademark social realism with ancient, wild magic. … It’s atavistically satisfying: the wondrous opposite of folk horror.

Go to Full Review

Nicolás Medina

Peliplat

Dec 4

8/10

Bird is a film that does not promise answers, that does not seek comfort, and yet it lodges itself in the viewer's mind like a persistent buzzing. [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Ernesto Diezmartinez

Letras Libres

Oct 22

374

"In her latest film, Andrea Arnold creates a narrative universe in which the harsh world of a teenage girl merges with the fantastic". [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Elsie M

11/19/2024

Another great Andrea Arnold film. This definitely needs time to process after watching it.

See more

James

11/18/2024

This is a remarkable movie. It ranges from a level of realism that will make you a little uncomfortable to outright magic, and the acting is uniformly superb. No summary could do it justice, just see it.

See more

Edith

11/17/2024

Very boring. I walked out of the theater

See more

Shannon P

11/15/2024

Gritty view of life, with some fantasy as well. Interesting film good job by actors

See more

Joyce H

11/08/2024

All the performances were Grade A. Keoghan & Rogowski at their best.

See more

Chris H

@RT60525826 May 18

A blend of reality and fantasy that somehow not only works, but feels gritty and rooted. Nykiya Adams stands out as the central character undergoing her own transformation.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Andrea Arnold

Director

Barry Keoghan

Bug

Franz Rogowski

Bird

Nykiya Adams

Bailey

James Nelson-Joyce

Skate

Jasmine Jobson

Peyton

Aftersun

95%

82%

Aftersun

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Aftersun

Manchester by the Sea

96%

78%

Manchester by the Sea

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Manchester by the Sea

Roma

96%

72%

Roma

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Roma

Sentimental Value

95%

94%

Sentimental Value

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Sentimental Value

I, Daniel Blake

92%

85%

I, Daniel Blake

Watchlist

TRAILER

for I, Daniel Blake

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Bird: Trailer 1

1:41

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

The long-awaited return to fiction filmmaking from Academy Award-winner Andrea Arnold (American Honey, Fish Tank), BIRD is a tender, striking and extraordinarily surprising coming-of-age fable about marginalized life in the fringes of contemporary society. 12-year-old Bailey (astounding newcomer Nykiya Adams) lives with her devoted but chaotic single dad Bug (Barry Keoghan, Saltburn) and wayward brother Hunter in a squat in Gravesend, north Kent. Approaching puberty and seeking attention and adventure, Bailey's fractured home life is transformed when she encounters Bird (Franz Rogowski, Passages), a mysterious stranger on a journey of his own. A wondrous portrait of the transition from childhood to adolescence that remains grounded in her typically empathetic social realism, Arnold's latest strides to the wildly poetic rhythm of her own drum.

Director: Andrea Arnold
Producer: Lee Groombridge, Juliette Howell, Tessa Ross
Screenwriter: Andrea Arnold
Distributor: MUBI
Production Co: Pinky Promise, arte France Cinéma, FirstGen Content, BBC Films, Access Entertainment, British Film Institute, Ad Vitam, House Productions
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Drug Material|Some Violent Content)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 8, 2024, Limited
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital