Bird (2024 film)

 

Written and directed by Andrea Arnold, Bird is the story of a 12-year-old who is dealing with growing pains as she lives in near-poverty with her younger brother and single father as she tries to find herself in North Kent with the help of a man trying to find his family. The film is a coming-of-age film in which a young woman deals with her surroundings as well as wanting attention from her father who spends time hanging out with other people including his girlfriend than with his own children. Starring Nykiya Adams, Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski, Jason Buda, Jasmine Jobson, Frankie Box, and James Nelson-Joyce. Bird is a majestic and gripping film by Andrea Arnold.

The film is about a 12-year-old girl who is dealing with puberty and her young father’s upcoming marriage to a girlfriend as she meets a mysterious man who is trying to find his family. It is a film that explores a young woman coming of age as she lives in North Kent in near-poverty though her father has found a toad that can produce slime that would unleash psychedelics. Still, this young girl in Bailey (Nykiya Adams) can do things for herself in her town while is also becoming aware that she is growing up. Andrea Arnold’s screenplay is straightforward in its narrative, yet it is more about this young woman who would meet this strange man named Bird (Franz Rogowski) who has arrived at North Kent by foot with a backpack and wearing a dress where he is trying to find his family. The script would play into Bailey dealing with her father Bug (Barry Keoghan) getting married to a woman whom he had begun a relationship with a few months ago as she has a daughter of her own. Even as she is going through her own growing pains as well as visiting her mother Peyton (Jasmine Jobson) and her young half-siblings who live in a home with her abusive boyfriend Skate (James Nelson-Joyce).

Arnold’s direction is entrancing in her approach to realism in the locations she shoots as well as flirting with elements of magical realism that plays a key role in the film’s third act. Shot on various locations in the Kent area including Gravesend, Dartford, Ashford, and Bean, Arnold’s direction does emphasize wide and medium shots to get a scope of the locations of where the characters are in. Notably in scenes with fields, canals, and areas involving nature as it plays into this sense of intrigue that Bailey encounters. Arnold also uses close-ups including extreme close-ups to play into Bailey’s own emotions in her reactions to situations and the people around her. Arnold would also use some unique tracking and long shots for scenes in which Bailey or Bug are riding a motorized scooter somewhere in North Kent. The direction also has Arnold keep things realistic where the locations are key to the story whether it is a building that is decayed or the suburbs where everything in the latter feels structured and clean.

Arnold’s flirtation with magical realism does not come into play until its third act when Bailey visits her half-siblings with Bug as she asks her older half-brother Hunter (Jason Buda) to find Skate and attack him since Hunter is part of a vigilante gang. It is where Bailey and Bird, along with Bailey’s young half-siblings, take go to the beach while they would meet a man (Jason Williamson) whom Bird believes is his father. It is a key moment where in a conventional film, there would be intense melodrama, but Arnold would restrain things as it play into two men who might be connected as they would talk and rationalize things. Arnold’s approach to magical realism would come to the film’s climax as well as the ending as it plays into Bailey’s own realization about herself and the new family she is going to be in with her father, Hunter, Bug’s girlfriend, and her daughter. The film’s ending is another brush with magical realism as it does play into this young woman coming of age as well as meeting this man who is trying to find himself. Overall, Arnold crafts an evocative and touching film where a young girl meets a mysterious man where they both go on a journey of self-discovery in North Kent.

Cinematographer Robbie Ryan does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its naturalistic look for many of the daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as the usage of smartphones for scenes that Bailey uses to capture nature and things around her. Editor Joe Bini does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with a few jump-cuts to play into the energy in some of the tracking shots. Production designer Maxine Carlier, along with set decorator Jo Berglund plus art directors Lili Lea Abraham and Kate Stamp, does brilliant work with the look of the decayed apartment home that Bailey lives with Bug and Hunter as well as the home that Peyton lives in. Costume designer Alex Bovaird does nice work with the costumes as it is casual with some style in what Bug wears that include track suits and baseball caps that plays into his love for hip-hop.

Hair/makeup supervisor Giada Venturini and prosthetics designer Suzi Battersby does amazing work with the look of some prosthetics that would be a key factor in the film’s third act. Visual effects supervisor Robin Aristorenas does terrific work with the visual effects as it also plays into elements of the film’s third function as it relates to the idea of magical realism. The sound work of Nicolas Becker is superb in the way sound is captured on location as well as the way certain things sound from afar and up-close. The film’s music by Burial is wonderful for its low-key yet throbbing electronic score with elements of ambient pieces that play into the drama. Music supervisor Simon Astall provides a fun mixture of music ranging from hip-hop, indie, and Brit-pop in acts like Fontaines D.C., the Verve, Blur, Sleaford Mods, Rednex, and Coldplay.

The film’s casting by Lucy Pardee is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Jason Williamson as a man who might know Bird, Joanne Matthews as that man’s girlfriend, Andrew Richard Bryant and Kirsty J. Curtis as the parents of Hunter’s girlfriend Moon, Frankie Box as Bug’s fiancée Kayleigh whom Bailey is not fond of at first until she comes to her about her first period, Jasmine Jobson as Bailey’s mother Peyton who is in abusive and tumultuous relationship with her current boyfriend, James Nelson-Joyce as Peyton’s abusive boyfriend Skate who hates Bailey and treats Peyton’s kids terribly, and Jason Buda in a superb performance as Bailey’s older half-brother Hunter who is part of a vigilante gang as he has become estranged from his girlfriend because of her parents. Barry Keoghan is brilliant as Bailey and Hunter’s young father Bug as a man who found a toad that he believe would make him money as he has also decided to get married as Keoghan brings a sensitivity to a man that does not mean to be neglectful. Still, he does care about his children as he does prove that he is willing to show his love towards them despite his own faults.

Franz Rogowski is phenomenal as the titular character as a mysterious man who has backpacked through England as he is in search of his family where he seeks Bailey’s help while he also helps her with her own family issues. Even though there is an odd approach that Rogowski presents the character as he is first seen wearing a dress as he is also full of energy and warmth. Finally, there’s Nykiya Adams in a tremendous performance as Bailey, a 12-year-old girl who is fascinated by nature and her surroundings as she deals with growing pains as well as her own identity with her father becoming distracted with his upcoming wedding. Adams also displays a maturity as a young woman who is also concerned for her younger siblings as well as slowly accepting the way things are as it is a revelatory performance from the newcomer.

Bird is a sensational film by Andrea Arnold that features great performances from Franz Rogowski and Barry Keoghan as well as a major discovery in Nikiya Adams. Along with its ensemble cast, intoxicating visuals, a compelling story of identity and growing up, and a somber music soundtrack from Burial. It is a film that does not play into the conventions of a coming-of-age film in favor of studying a girl’s own journey with a mysterious man as it plays into the two finding themselves. In the end, Bird is a spectacular film by Andrea Arnold.

Andrea Arnold Films: Red Road - Fish Tank - Wuthering Heights (2011 film) - American Honey - Cow (2021 film) - (Featherwood) - The Auteurs #31: Andrea Arnold

© thevoid99 2025

Cow (2021 film)

 

Directed by Andrea Arnold, Cow is a documentary film about the life of two dairy cows at a farm in Kent, England. The film is an exploration into the lives of these two cows and what they do and provide as well as showcase the world they live in as it is told in a cinema verite style. The result is an exhilarating and riveting film from Andrea Arnold.

Set on the dairy farm area in Kent, England, the film follows the life of a cow who would give birth to two calves on different occasions in the course of a year with a focus on the dairy cow Luma as she spends what might be the final year of her life and one of her calves who is starting a life of her own. It is a film that showcases a year in the life of Luma as it begins with the birth of her first calf as well as how a calf develops and then be sent to a nearby farm with other calves while Luma endures her own struggles in providing milk with other cows. A lot of it takes place in different seasons where Andrea Arnold follows the lives of these two cows with Luma being its main protagonist with farmers doing what they can to check on her health and everything else. Arnold does showcases the farmers from afar as they do a lot to ensure the well-being of the cows and calves where there are moments as a farmer checks on Luma and see if she can pump milk while one of them is careful in putting a machine on its udders as there is a humanity to the way Arnold showcases farmers doing what is right.

With the aid of cinematographers Magda Kowalczyk and Ponvishal Chidambaranathan, Arnold keeps a lot of the visual elements straightforward as there are moments where everything is gorgeous such as a scene of one of Luma’s calves roaming free in the grass and eating some of the grass as she is playing with other calves. Much of Arnold’s direction emphasizes on hand-held cameras to capture everything as it is happening while there are some odd moments as Arnold and her crew are forced to watch such as Luma being mounted by a male cow who would impregnate her leading to the birth of a second calf. Editors Rebecca Lloyd, Jacob Schulsinger, and Nicolas Chaudeurge would keep much of the editing straightforward where shots go on for minutes as Arnold wanted to showcase everything but also knowing where to put the camera from afar. Especially during the film’s final moments as what is presented is shocking but it’s not surprising for the fact that there is a fate for cows yet Arnold showcases that the farmers at least do it with a sense of dignity no matter how horrible a cow’s fate can be.

Sound designers Maria Carolina Santana Caraballo-Gramcko and Raphael Sohier, with sound editor Nicolas Becker, do amazing work with the sound in capturing everything that is happening as the layers of sound in the cows’ moos as it adds a unique atmosphere to the film. Music supervisor Simon Astall does fantastic work in cultivating a lot of the music that is played on location as there’s always music played in the farm as it’s usually something that is being aired from the BBC as it includes music from Billie Eilish with Khalid, Soak, Charlotte Day Wilson, Kali Uchis with Tyler the Creator and Bootsy Collins, Mabel, Angel Olsen, Jorja Smith with Kali Uchis, Olivia Dean, Kelsey Lu, Woom, and the Pogues with Kirsty MacColl while the lone non-diegetic music used in the film is from Garbage.

Cow is a tremendous film from Andrea Arnold. Featuring gorgeous imagery, an evocative soundtrack, and a riveting look into the life of a cow and one of her calves. The film is an unconventional yet daring documentary film that explores the life of a cow in all of its fascinating stages as well as a calf coming into her own development while being unaware of what will happen to her mother. In the end, Cow is a sensational film from Andrea Arnold.

Andrea Arnold Films: Red Road - Fish Tank - Wuthering Heights - American Honey - Bird (2024 film) - (Featherwood) - The Auteurs #31: Andrea Arnold

© thevoid99 2023

2021 Cannes Marathon: American Honey

 

(Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Andrea Arnold, American Honey is the story of a teenage girl who joins a crew of traveling sales people on a road trip through America as she encounters love, chaos, and life lessons. The film is a road movie set in the American Midwest where a troubled teen from a dysfunctional family joins this group of misfits hoping to find some adventure in her life. Starring Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, and Riley Keough. American Honey is a riveting and compelling film from Andrea Arnold.

The film revolves around the journey of an 18-year old woman who lives in a poor and dysfunctional family with kids whom she isn’t related to until she meets a young and charismatic salesman who is part of a gang of misfits selling magazines to people all over the country as she joins them on the road. It is a film with a simple premise as it explores this young woman from a poor and abusive environment who takes this job to go on the road and sell magazines with a band of misfits who are also from poor environments as a way to make money and have a good time. Andrea Arnold’s screenplay, which is based on a New York Times article by Ian Urbania, explores this culture where these kids are dropped off in sections of rich neighborhoods trying to sell magazines and make some money while displaying their sales to a boss who is only concerned with making money.

The main character named Star (Sasha Lane) is someone that lives in a home with two kids who are her half-siblings to a father who is sexually abusive as they barely can live through scraps. During a dumpster dive to find food and get a few things at a nearby Kmart, Star encounters this group of young kids wreaking havoc as they’re lead by this young man named Jake (Shia LaBeouf) who offers Star a chance to go on the road with him. She meets an assortment of people as she rides on a van where they’re taken to a destination and running the whole thing is Krystal (Riley Keough) who oversees all of the sales and slips as she has Jake take Star under his wing to train her. Yet, an attraction between Star and Jake start to unfold due to the former’s approach to getting a lot of money made yet Krystal is wary about this relationship as it starts to affect the work of the latter. The script also play into these locations that is the American Midwest and areas that are rich and poor where Star is selling magazines as she would make money through her own ways but also do things that would create tension between her, Jake, and Krystal.

Arnold’s direction is entrancing for the way she captures the world of the American Midwest as it is shot on various locations in Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota with some of its cities such as Kansas City and Omaha being major locations in the film. Shot on the 4:3 full-frame aspect ratio, Arnold maintains intimacy through the framing while playing to the visual splendor of these different locations that these characters are venturing into. The usage of hand-held cameras is prevalent throughout the film while Arnold knows when to use wide and medium shots for these scenes set in certain locations. The aspect ratio also plays into the claustrophobic and cramped tone of the van’s interior where many of the young kids including Star often ride in from location to location as there is an air of excitement of this next location as kids sing along to songs that is on the radio and such. Arnold’s direction also has this sense of looseness through the usage of hand-held cameras as well as a realism as everything is done on the fly in the way Star would interact with people and how she would get a sale made.

Some of which would involve having her do things she’s not comfortable with but there are moments that prove to be heartfelt where she converses with a truck driver (Bruce Gregory) as it shows that Star isn’t willing to compromise her humanity to make a sale like everyone else has to do. Despite the money she makes, she still gets disapproving looks from Krystal while Jake becomes possessive towards her as some revelations occur during the film’s third act as it relates to Jake’s role that makes Star uneasy. It all plays into a cycle for these young kids who all play a role for a young woman who does what she can to make money as the third act also show how low Krystal would push her crew to make sales. Its ending is an open-ended one as it play into not just Star’s future but also these kids who don’t know what is going to happen to them as they all do what they can to just live. Overall, Arnold crafts a rapturous and intoxicating film about an 18-year old girl joining a band of misfits on a road trip to sell magazines and much more to live the American dream.

Cinematographer Robbie Ryan does incredible work with the film’s cinematography as its emphasis on natural lighting and using available light for scenes at night add to the film’s realistic tone while maintaining a sense of beauty into the photography. Editor Joe Bini does amazing work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts to play into the energy of some of the music heard on location as well as play into the chaos of the lifestyle of these kids. Production designer Kelly McGehee, with set decorator Graham Wichman and art director Lance Mitchell, does excellent work with the look of the van as well as some of the motels and homes the kids would live in as well as the homes of some of the people they try to deal with. Costume designer Alex Bovaird does fantastic work with the costumes as it has a sense of style that play into the lives of these young kids as they largely wear baggy or skimpy clothing depending on how they present themselves to the people they’re trying to sell magazines to.

Makeup designer Anouck Sullivan does nice work with the look of Star and Krystal with the former looking natural and sometimes putting stickers on her face while the latter is often seen sporting lots of makeup as a form of power play. Sound editor Nicolas Becker does brilliant work in capturing much of the recorded material as well as the way conversations would sound inside the van or how music is played on location. Music supervisor Simon Astall does superb work with the film’s music soundtrack as it largely features a lot of the music of the late 2010s that kids listen to ranging from hip-hop and country as it features music from Juicy J featuring Wale and Trey Songz, Quigley, Rhianna with Calvin Harris, MadeinTYO, Sam Hunt, Lee Brice, Kevin Gates, Jeremih, E-40, Ciara featuring Ludacris, Rae Sremmund, Carnage featuring Migos, Lapsley, OG Maco, Raury, and Lady A as well as pieces from Steve Earle, Mazzy Star, Bruce Springsteen, and the Raveonettes.

The casting by Lucy Pardee and Jennifer Venditti is marvelous as it features an ensemble cast of non-actors, unknowns, and up-and-comers in some notable small roles that include Johnny Pierce II as Star’s sexually-abusive father Nathan, Brody and Summer Hunsaker in their respective roles as Star’s step-siblings Rubin and Kelsey, Chastity Hunsaker as Rubin and Kelsey’s neglectful stepmother, Bruce Gregory as a truck driver that Star befriends and sings a Suicide song covered by Bruce Springsteen, Laura Kirk as a Christian housewife whose daughter is doing sexually-provocative dance moves in front of Jake and Star during a sale, and Will Patton as a man that Star wins over to buy her magazines. The performances of the following in Veronnikah Ezell, Christopher David Wright, Shawna Rae Moseley, Dakota Powers, Isaiah Stone, Raymond Coalson, Kenneth Kory Tucker, Garry Howell, Chad McKenzie Cox, Crystal B. Ice, McCaul Lombardi, and Arielle Holmes are incredible as these young kids who become friends with Star as they have this charisma and energy about them as it adds to the realism of their performances as they are a highlight of the film.

Riley Keough is excellent as Krystal as the business manager and organizer of this rag-tag group of kids trying to sell magazines as she is someone that knows a lot on what to do but is also cruel in what she does to the young kids at times with a bigger disdain towards Star who she sees as a threat in getting Jake’s attention. Shia LaBeouf is brilliant as Jake as a veteran salesman with a rattail hairstyle that play into his unconventional presentation yet is someone that has charisma but also a dark side to him in the way he becomes possessive towards Star as well as be someone that is immoral at times in the way he tries to sell magazines to people. Finally, there’s Sasha Lane in a phenomenal performance as Star as an 18-year old kid from the white trash area of Oklahoma trying to find herself and meaning in her young life as she goes on the road with this band of misfits where she learns how to be salesperson but also find ways to make some good money but also maintain some morality and dignity. Lane also maintains this air of tenderness but also someone that is always having fun but also can do so much when she doesn’t say anything as it is a tremendous breakthrough performance from Lane.

American Honey is a tremendous film from Andrea Arnold that features an incredible discovery in Sasha Lane. Along with its ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, an emphasis on realism and grit, an eclectic music soundtrack, and its themes of trying to find identity and hope in the idea of the American dream. The film is truly an astonishing portrait of the American life as it explore a group of people who live on the fringes of society trying to do things their own way but also deal with this sense of the unknown in a world that is often ever-changing. In the end, American Honey is a magnificent film from Andrea Arnold.

Andrea Arnold Films: Red Road - Fish Tank - Wuthering Heights (2011 film) - Cow (2021 film) - Bird (2024 film) - (Featherwood) – The Auteurs #31: Andrea Arnold

© thevoid99 2021

The Auteurs #31: Andrea Arnold

One of the new voices to emerge from Britain, Andrea Arnold brought a unique voice that featured the realism of Ken Loach with an aesthetic similar to the Dogme 95 movement of the late 1990s. Her emergence to cinema was something needed when another female British voice in Lynne Ramsay was forced into exile by more powerful forces in the industry. Though Arnold started out her career as an actress and TV presenter, her desire to create stories of her own would yield an already impressive collection of films in three shorts and three feature films with another feature film in development.

Born in Dartford at the Kent county in England, Arnold was the eldest of four children to a teenage mother as seeing her mother raise four children by herself would have a profound experience on the young Arnold. These experiences would lead to Arnold writing stories that played into her childhood as she became interested in dancing and acting by the age of 10. After leaving high school at age 16 to pursue an acting career and leaving for London two years later, Arnold got a job in being the host for the British children TV show No. 73 in the 1980s while being a dancer at Top of the Pops. By the early 1990s as No. 73 was coming to an end, Arnold decided to retire from acting and being a TV host as she went to Los Angeles to study directing at the AFI Conservatory.

The rest of the piece can be read here at Cinema Axis.

© thevoid99 2014

Wuthering Heights (2011 film)

Based on the novel by Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights is the story about a young woman who falls for her adopted brother as they later become separated until meeting each other as adults hoping to reclaim their love. Directed by Andrea Arnold and screenplay by Arnold and Olivia Hetreed, the film is a deconstruction of Bronte’s novel to explore the complexity of an enduring love affair. Starring Kaya Scodelario, James Howson, and Oliver Milburn. Wuthering Heights is a visually-astonishing and mesmerizing film from Andrea Arnold.

The story of Wuthering Heights revolves around a young man who is adopted by a rich family as he falls for their daughter. Despite the abuse he encounters from the family, he finds love in this young girl as they have a great relationship only to be torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. After he leaves for some years, he returns as a man to find his childhood home in ruins while learning that the woman he loves is married and has become bitter over his departure many years ago. It’s a story that’s been told many times in many film adaptations but what Andrea Arnold and co-screenwriter Olivia Hetreed do with the story is create something different by casting the character of Heathcliff as a black man. It’s an unusual approach to the story but it adds a lot of dramatic weight to the relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine as they have something that is pure and unique.

While the film doesn’t have much of a plot, it does explore the unique relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine where they are intrigued by each other as children. A lot of the film’s first half is about that relationship where Heathcliff is taken by Catherine’s father to live with them though Heathcliff arrives as a troubled boy who has never experienced love. Through Catherine, all of that changes for Heathcliff despite the abuse he receives from her brother Hindley (Lee Shaw). After some circumstances where Catherine meets Edgar Linton, the relationship changes where Heathcliff finally leaves thinking he’s lost Catherine. Upon his return as an adult where he sees the home that is Wuthering Heights a shell of its former self, he learns that Catherine has married Edgar as she is in another home where her reaction towards Heathcliff is mixed. Particularly as she wonders why he did leave as Heathcliff is also being pursued by her sister-in-law Isabella. Still, there is that sense of regret in Heathcliff as well as the sense of longing between the two.

Arnold’s direction is very interesting for the way she shoots the film in a full-frame 1:33:1 theatrical aspect ratio. While it’s a format that doesn’t show some of the full detail of the landscapes set in the north of Britain, it does manage to convey a sense of atmosphere in the close-ups and imagery that Arnold presents. Particularly as it also plays up a sense of naturalism to the film in terms of its lighting and dramatic tension where the film does sort of start at the end to convey everything that Heathcliff is going through with his life with Catherine. Many of the scenes are also shot in hand-held cameras to create that air of looseness in the story and drama while Arnold does also create moments that are quite still and intense. Notably in the film’s third act where Heathcliff and Catherine are adults as the film often features images of their life as children where they both hope to reclaim that place in time where they were happy and free. Overall, Arnold creates a very hypnotic and rich film about love and all of the turmoil it brings.

Cinematographer Robbie Ryan does amazing work with the photography with the use of natural lights in many of the murky exteriors in the swamps to the some of the scenes at night to play out the tense atmosphere of the film. Editor Nicolas Chaudeurge does brilliant work with the editing as it features some stylish jump-cuts to play out the drama and the romance. Production designer Helen Scott, along with set decorator Alice Norris and art director Christopher Wyatt, does fantastic work with the look of the Wuthering Heights farm to the Linton home where the adult Catherine lives.

Costume designer Steve Noble does excellent work with the clothes of the period from the colorless look of the clothes Heathcliff and Catherine wears as kids to the more looser dresses that Catherine wears as an adult. Sound editor Nicolas Becker does great work with the sound to capture the sound of the winds to some of the scenes at the house to maintain that air of isolation the characters go into.

The casting by Des Hamilton, Lucy Pardee, and Gail Stevens is superb for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Oliver Milburn as Mr. Linton, Lee Shaw as the abusive Hindley, Amy Wren as Hindley’s wife Frances, Steve Evets as the family farmer Joseph, Simone Jackson as the Linton maid Nelly, and Paul Hilton as Catherine’s father Mr. Earnshaw who takes in Heathcliff. Jonny Powell and James Northcote are very good in their respective roles as the young and adult Edgar Linton who woos Catherine while the older Edgar has no idea what to do with her. Eve Coverly is wonderful as the young Isabella Linton while Nichola Burley is terrific as the adult Isabella who falls for Heathcliff while having to endure his feelings for Catherine.

Finally, there’s the four principle actors who play the lead roles of Catherine and Heathcliff. In the roles of the young Heathcliff and Catherine, Solomon Glave and Shannon Beer are great in their respective roles where Glave gives a mostly silent yet brooding performance as the young Heathcliff while Beer is more outgoing and exciting as the young Catherine. In the adult roles of Heathcliff and Catherine, James Howson and Kaya Scodelario are brilliant in their respective roles with Howson as a more anguished Heathcliff who wants to redeem himself while Scodelario as a more distant and somewhat cold approach to Catherine.

Wuthering Heights is an extraordinary film from Andrea Arnold. Featuring an amazing ensemble cast and rich imagery, it’s a film that takes Emily Bronte’s novel and strip it down to something more simple and to the point with its exploration of love and longing. In the end, Wuthering Heights is a remarkable film from Andrea Arnold.

Andrea Arnold Films: Red Road - Fish Tank - American Honey - Cow (2021 film) - Bird (2024 film) - (Featherwood) - The Auteurs #31: Andrea Arnold

© thevoid99 2013

Red Road

Written and directed by Andrea Arnold, Red Road is the story about a CCTV security officer who is intrigued by a man she knew years ago as she watches him through her video monitor. The first of a trilogy of films of the Advance Party film series that is made under a set of rules with character back-stories and geography settings for new filmmakers. Starring Kate Dickie and Tony Curran. Red Road is a harrowing yet exquisite film from Andrea Arnold.

Obsession is an interesting theme as it often involves some kind of motivation. For this security officer who watches the entire city of Glasgow through a video monitor to make sure things are going well until one particular day when she sees the face of a man she had known many years ago. Who is this man and why is she interested in him? The film slowly explores the life of this woman named Jackie (Kate Dickie) as she follows this mysterious man named Clyde (Tony Curran) as she learns that he’s been released from prison over something he committed. While information isn’t unveiled until late in the film, it does become obvious into why Jackie wants to see what Clyde is up to. Yet, writer/director Andrea Arnold takes her time to figure out what is Jackie really trying to discover and how to approach this man.

The screenplay that features some rules conceived by Danish filmmakers Lone Scherfig and Anders Thomas Jensen that includes character backgrounds and such along with what these new filmmakers should do. Arnold takes these ideas and uses it to create her own story about a woman still mired in some form of grief as she is trying to follow this man. Jackie starts off as a woman living her life alone as a security officer who would often have trysts with a married co-worker while distancing herself from family. By the time she learns about Clyde’s release, she is intrigued to see if he’s up to no good as she eventually takes a closer look where he lives with a couple of young people in Stevie (Martin Compston) and April (Nathalie Press). Once she gets closer to learn more about Clyde, there is a conflict into what Jackie wants as there are those in Clyde’s circle who are also wondering about Jackie’s intentions though they don’t really know her either.

Arnold’s direction is presented in a style similar to Dogme 95 except in its look as it is loose and free wielding but also very direct into the images that Arnold is presenting. Some of which are very entrancing from the look of Glasgow seen through the video monitors including the famous Red Road section of the city as well as the city itself at night. Shot in a hand-held camera style, Arnold’s direction allows the film to have this sense of realism but also a beauty to the stark world of Glasgow, Scotland as it’s a character in itself. There also some very direct and frank scenes of sexuality as it relates to Jackie’s own sense of desires that she seems to have lost as Arnold isn’t afraid to make it a bit graphic or confrontational. Yet, it plays to what Jackie is going through as she is intrigued by Clyde as well as the unveiling of why she did this as the answers themselves don’t become easy to digest though Arnold is aware that the audiences are smart enough to know why. Overall, Arnold creates a very fascinating yet haunting film about obsession and loss.

Cinematographer Robbie Ryan does brilliant work with the film‘s photography from the grainy look of the video footage to some of the more entrancing lighting schemes for the scenes at night. Editor Nicolas Chaudeurge does great work with the editing by using some methodical cuts to play out some of the drama as well as some jump-cut to intensify some of these dramatic moments. Production designer Helen Scott does wonderful work with the look of the work place Jackie works at to the apartment where Clyde lives with Stevie and April.

Costume designer Carole K. Millar does nice work with the clothes as it‘s mostly casual for the characters to wear including some of the darker clothes of Jackie. Sound designer Douglas MacDougall is amazing for the atmosphere it creates in some of the scenes in the city and at Jackie’s work station to showcase the world of obsession. The film’s music consists largely of what is played on location as it features music by the Monkees and Oasis as well as cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart in the closing credits.

The casting by Kahleen Crawford and Des Hamilton is remarkable as it features some notable small roles from Andrew Armour as Jackie’s father-in-law, Paul Higgins as a co-worker/part-time lover of Jackie’s, and John Comerford as a man with a dog Jackie always watches. Martin Compston and Nathalie Press are wonderful as the young couple Stevie and April as two people struggling to find something in their lives as they’re both poor. Tony Curran is great as Clyde as a man trying to live a straight life as he’s eager to make contact with his daughter as he is intrigued by Jackie. Kate Dickie is marvelous as Jackie as a woman who is wondering about what Clyde is up to as Dickie brings a chilling presence as a woman trying to look from afar as she has no idea what she’s in for.

Red Road is a tremendous film from Andrea Arnold that features amazing performances from Kate Dickie and Tony Curran. The film is an intriguing look into the world of obsession as well as a woman dealing with her own intentions into that obsession. It’s a film with a sense of richness as well as an ugliness that adds to that world of realism and suspense. In the end, Red Road is an exhilarating film from Andrea Arnold.

Andrea Arnold Films: Fish Tank - Wuthering Heights (2011 film) - American Honey - Cow (2021 film) - Bird (2024 film) - (Featherwood) - The Auteurs #31: Andrea Arnold

© thevoid99 2013

2011 Cannes Marathon: Fish Tank

(Co-Winner of the Jury Prize w/ Thirst at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Andrea Arnold, Fish Tank tells the story of a 15-year old girl whose family life is in chaos as she finds solace in her mother’s new boyfriend to take up street dancing. A coming-of-age film set in Britain, it is also a realistic portrayal of a young girl who feels unloved and alienated by the world around her. Starring Katie Jarvis, Kierston Wareing, Rebecca Griffiths, Harry Treadaway, and Michael Fassbender. Fish Tank is a harrowing yet enchanting coming-of-age film from Andrea Arnold.

Mia Williams (Katie Jarvis) is a foul-mouthed 15-year old girl who lives in a housing project in Tilbury with her mother Joanne (Kierston Wareing) and her younger sister Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths). Mia is also someone with no friends and doesn’t go to school as she spends a lot of her time alone practicing her street-dance moves and walking around the streets of Tilbury where she comes across a white horse. On one particular day, Mia discovers a man in her apartment as it’s her mother’s new boyfriend Connor (Michael Fassbender) as he takes Mia, Tyler, and Joanne on a road trip of sorts.

Mia enjoys Connor’s presence as he also enjoys her dancing while she also befriends one of the owners of the white horse in a 19-year old boy named Billy (Harry Treadaway). Mia learns of a dance competition coming as she asks Connor for help as he gives her a camera that she can film herself and send it for the audition. Yet, Mia remains intrigued by Connor as they hit it off despite the fact that he’s dating her mother whom she doesn’t like very much. Still, Mia is anxious about her performance as the relationship with her and Connor intensify leading to some issues. Even as Mia would make some discoveries about Connor that would change everything about their relationship.

The story of a young girl who finds solace in street-dancing to cope with her unhappy home and social life might seem like a premise that Hollywood would use to make it an inspirational story. Fortunately, that’s not what the film’s writer/director Andrea Arnold is going for as she aims for a film that follows this young girl’s journey. Yet, Mia Williams is a character that isn’t a perfect one like all girls in real life. Yes, she is a foul-mouthed, volatile, selfish young woman who often does things including head-butting other girls or shouting at her younger sister. Still, like Antoine Doinel of the films by Francois Truffaut like The 400 Blows, is a girl who feels unloved by her mother who is more like a young woman than a mother.

When Connor comes into Mia’s world, she finds someone who is like a father figure to her as he encourages her to dance and such. Yet, he is treated like scum whenever her mother is around as it suggests that Mia has some feelings for Connor. Still, it plays off as a father-daughter thing but as it progresses. It becomes something much though it’s followed by a series of complications that would change Mia’s perspective on Connor. This would follow by events that would not only impact Mia’s own sense of the world as well as the little amount of innocence she had left in her youth. Arnold’s script succeeds in studying Mia while creating characters such as Joanne and Connor as real people who are flawed but also have something about them that makes them enjoyable.

Arnold’s direction is truly mesmerizing in the way she follows Mia in her journey of growing up as it’s shot on location in Tilbury as well as other places in England. Yet, there is something beautiful in the way Arnold presents things in a town that is very working class and not very clean in a lot of places. Arnold’s direction has a mixture of hand-held work and steadicam camera shots to dwell into Mia’s journey while her framing is presented in a full-screen format. The decision to not use the widescreen format is probably because Arnold wanted something that is intimate and direct. The overall direction of the film is superb as Arnold creates a captivating drama about a girl in need of a future in her dreary world.

Cinematographer Robbie Ryan does a phenomenal job with the photography from the colorful yet naturalistic look for many of the film‘s exterior scenes including some nighttime scenes. Yet, a couple of interior shots such as Mia dancing in an empty room or at her apartment are filled with wonderful yet gorgeous lighting schemes to portray its mood. Editor Nicolas Chaudeurge does a superb job with the editing in maintaining a leisured pace for the film along with rhythmic jump-cuts for scenes of Mia practicing her dancing in a few key scenes.

Production designer Helen Scott and art director Christopher Wyatt do an excellent job with the look of the Williams‘ apartment along with the decayed trailer area that Billy lives in with his horse. Costume designer Jane Petrie does a very good job with the costumes from the scantily-clad clothing that Joanne wears to the street, hip-hop inspired clothes that Mia wears throughout the film. Sound editor Joakim Sundstrom does a brilliant job with the sound work to capture the chaotic atmosphere of the apartment with televisions on all the time to the world that is Tilbury.

The film’s soundtrack that is assembled by music supervisor Liz Gallacher is a mixture of hip-hop and soul music that dominates most of the film. Among the tracks that are played in the film are from artists like Nas, Ja Rule, Gang Starr, Cassie, Eric B. & Rakim, James Brown, and a great cover of the Mamas & the Papas’ California Dreamin’ by Bobby Womack that serves as the centerpiece of the film’s soundtrack.

The casting by Jill Trevellick is amazing for its realness as many of the actors that appear in the film are either non-professional for first-time actors. Memorable performances include Sydney Mary Nash as a young girl Mia encounters, Rebecca Griffiths as Mia’s precocious yet foul-mouthed little sister Tyler, and Harry Treadaway as a 19-year old boy named Billy whom Mia befriends. Kierston Wareing is excellent as Mia’s mother who is very neglectful and abusive most of the time unaware of the hurt she’s bringing while being someone who wants to remain youthful which includes a great moment of her, Mia, and Tyler dancing to Nas. Michael Fassbender is superb as Connor, Joanne’s new boyfriend who provides encouragement and attention to Mia while being a father figure of sorts despite the fact that he’s also got a secret to hide. Yet, Fassbender doesn’t make his character creepy though he’s a flawed individual who likes to drink and watch TV as it’s a remarkable performance from the Irish actor.

Finally, there’s Katie Jarvis in a towering debut performance as Mia Williams. Jarvis’ fiery performance is truly spellbinding in the way she acts out her frustrations along with the way she shouts. At the same time, she proves to be a capable street dancer that has a lot of talent without being too flashy and such. It’s a raw yet hypnotic performance from the young actress who is surely to become someone to watch in the years to come.

***Additional DVD Tidbits Written from 3/25/13-3/30/13***

The Region 1 DVD from the Criterion Collection presents the film in its original 1:33:1 theatrical aspect ratio with Dolby Digital Surround Sound as it’s all approved by its writer/director Andrea Arnold. The DVD features a slew of extras relating to the film as well as three short films by Arnold.

The 1998 short Milk is the story about the aftermath of a miscarriage in which a woman is numb in her loss where she goes into an impromptu road trip with a stranger. It’s a very fascinating yet chilling short that features Lynda Steadman in the leading role as well as Stephen McGann as her boyfriend who buries their stillborn child. The 2001 short Dog is about a teenage girl who steals money from her abusive mother to buy weed with her boyfriend as she encounters a stray dog that she falls for only for something innocent from the dog leads to a traumatic moment. It’s another gorgeous short from Arnold that explores a young woman’s innocence in a poor part of town as she finds small joy in this stray dog.

Finally, there’s Arnold’s 2003 Oscar-winning short Wasp starring Nathalie Press and Danny Dyer about a young mother with four kids who meets an old friend as she decides to meet him in a pub while the kids wait outside. It’s a very compelling short about a young woman being torn in being a mother and trying to live the life of a young woman. It also reveals what these kids are going through when they have to fend for themselves that would involve a wasp as it’s definitely a brilliant short.

The 14-minute interview with Kierston Wareing has the actress talking about Arnold’s directing process as Wareing compares it to some of the attributes of Ken Loach whom she had worked with in It’s a Free World…. Wareing also discusses about the character that she played as someone who is selfish and obviously irresponsible where Wareing knew it wasn’t an easy character to play. It’s a very engrossing interview with the British actress who reveals a lot about Arnold’s filmmaking style and how she directs actors.

The 26-minute audio interview with Michael Fassbender is from a January 2010 public conversation at Museum of Moving Images in Queens, New York City as part of its Pinewood Dialogue series with curator David Schwartz. Fassbender talks about the film, Andrea Arnold, and co-star Katie Jarvis where he reveals some tidbits about the film’s production as well as his view on his character. Fassbender also revealed that the film was shot in chronological order as well as without a script that allowed the actors to improvise and play things out naturally. It’s a very fascinating interview to listen to as it reveals a lot of Fassbender’s views on acting and films as well as a funny story about Fassbender directing a stage version of Reservoir Dogs where he played Mr. Pink.

The 10-minute audition footage features 10 dancers who auditioned for the film as each young woman show their dancing skills where it’s definitely a highlight of the special features content. The DVD also includes a trailer and a still gallery showcasing many pictures of the film itself. The DVD also includes a booklet that features an essay film scholar Ian Christie entitled An England Story. Christie’s essay reveals a lot about the film and its importance in British cinema as it continues that tradition of British working-class cinema. Yet, Christie reveals that Andrea Arnold brings something new to the table since it reflects on the lives of women and the uncertainty that Mia faces in her environment. It’s a very engaging essay from Christie as the DVD itself is another highlight from the Criterion Collection.

***End of DVD Content***

Fish Tank is a magnificent yet intense coming-of-age film from Andrea Arnold featuring Katie Jarvis’ powerful performance. Audiences of real British dramas will no doubt see this as one of the best films of that genre while be amazed into the story of a young girl living a world of misery. Even as it serves as a breakthrough for both Andrea Arnold and Katie Jarvis as Fish Tank is a stunning achievement for those two women and British independent cinema.

Andrea Arnold Films: Red Road - Wuthering Heights (2011 film) - American Honey - Cow (2021 film) - Bird (2024 film) - (Featherwood) - The Auteurs #31: Andrea Arnold

© thevoid99 2011