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
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Written and directed by Michael Haneke, Happy End is the story of a bourgeoisie family in Calais whose comfortable life is hindered by events relating to them or around them. It’s a film that explores family dysfunction in an upper-class world as they try to deal with their personal lives just as the growing refugee crisis in Europe is happening around them. Starring Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz, and Toby Jones. Happy End is a chilling and offbeat film from Michael Haneke.
The film follows a year in the life of a family living in Calais as their personal and professional lives start to unravel by a series of unfortunate events relating to tragedy and other matters. It’s a film that doesn’t have much of a plot as it’s more of an exploration of a family told largely by a 12-year old girl in Eve Laurent (Fantine Harduin) who would capture the events of her mother’s drug overdose through her phone as she would later live with her father Thomas (Mathieu Kassovitz) who shares the family estate with his wife Anais (Laura Verlinden), his sister Anne (Isabelle Huppert), and the family patriarch Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant).
Michael Haneke’s screenplay features an opening sequence where a section of a construction site collapses and a man that was inside a port-a-potty where the section had collapsed as Anne’s firm runs the site. It’s among the moments that play into the film that are dramatic but in a low-key approach as Haneke also uses the European migrant crisis as a backdrop with mentions of it on TV and parts of the film surrounding the characters. Notably as Thomas is chatting with another woman making Eve believe he has a mistress while Anne is also dealing with her adult son Pierre (Franz Rogowski) who is getting into trouble that is increased by his alcoholism due to his role in the construction accident. Georges meanwhile is suffering from dementia and is intent on committing suicide.
Haneke’s direction doesn’t really have much style other than long and gazing shots as well as this air of detachment into the direction. While the film opens with images of Eve filming things on her phone including the moment of her mother’s collapse from a drug overdose. The usage of smartphones and laptops play to the film’s visuals including the video tape footage of the construction accident where a section of the site collapses as it’s shown in a wide shot. Haneke’s usage of the wide shots add to the stark tone of the film as he displays of disconnect and detachment for characters and the world they’re in whether it’s Anne and Pierre investigating the site and area where the collapse happened or a shot of Eve and Thomas in the beach where the former is in the foreground seeing her father in the background smiling and talking on the phone.
There are moments where Haneke uses a few close-ups and medium shots in the film as it does play into characters attempting to connect such as Anne and Georges with Eve including one scene late in the film following some intense moments between Eve and Georges where it is this simple conversation that shows Haneke being at his most tender and knowing when to cut during this conversation. The film does feature a lot of long takes in shots that would last for more than a minute or two as it would also include these moments where the characters struggle to deal with a situation as some of it is happening off screen or from afar. The moment of reality that is away from their quaint world would come to ahead in the film’s final sequence as it relates to what is happening in Europe as it is about how these characters react to what is going on as well as what is happening around them. Overall, Haneke crafts a riveting yet eerie film about a year in the life of a bourgeoisie family dealing with tragedy and other unfortunate events.
Cinematographer Christian Berger does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with its vibrant usage of natural colors and lighting for the daytime exterior scenes along with some low-key lights for some scenes set at night. Editor Monika Willi does brilliant work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few stylistic cuts including a few rhythmic cuts for some of the conversations that occur in the film. Production designer Olivier Radot, with set decorator Nathalie Roubaud and art director Anthony Neale, does fantastic work with the look of the home that the Laurent family lives in as well as the home Eve lived with her mother.
Costume designer Catherine Leterrier does nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the expensive suits that Anne wears or the summer clothes some of the characters wear. Visual effects supervisor Arnaud Fouquet does terrific work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects such as the construction site accident and a few bits of scenes from the phone. The sound work of Guillaume Sciama is superb for its atmospheric sound as it help play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as the emphasis on natural sounds for scenes involving characters from afar though whatever dialogue is spoken is being heard along with the way music sounds on a radio or on a karaoke machine in one scene of the film.
The casting by David El Hakim and Kris Portier de Bellair is incredible as it feature some notable small roles from Hassam Ghancy and Nabiha Akkari as a Moroccan couple who live at the Laurent estate in Rachid and Jamila who both work for the family with the former being Georges’ most loyal servant and the latter being the maid that everyone likes. Loubna Abidar is wonderful in her small role as a musician named Claire who is believed to be Thomas’ mistress through chats that Eve would discover. Toby Jones is superb as British businessman Lawrence Bradshaw whom is in a relationship with Anne as he helps her deal with the accident while watch from afar the chaos of Anne’s family life. Laura Verlinden is terrific as Thomas’ wife Anais as a woman that is trying to get to know Eve while raising a baby as she is unaware of what her husband is doing. Franz Rogowski is fantastic as Anne’s troubled adult son Pierre as someone who is unable to deal with the responsibilities of his actions as he gets himself into trouble and begins to act out believing he’s unable to cope with taking over the family firm.
Fantine Harduin is excellent as Eve as a 12-year old girl dealing with her mother’s drug overdose as well as some of the drama that is going on in her family as she films some things on her phone while trying to understand this air of detachment around her family. Mathieu Kassovitz is brilliant as Eve’s father Thomas as a doctor who is trying to make Eve comfortable at his home while hiding a secret about his affair with another woman unaware that Eve knows about it as well as question him about ever loving someone. Isabelle Huppert is amazing as Anne as Georges’ eldest child as a woman trying to run a firm that is under scrutiny as she is also dealing with her son’s alcoholism and all sorts of chaos as well as being someone trying to connect with Eve. Finally, there’s Jean-Louis Trintignant in a remarkable performance as Georges Laurent as an old man dealing with dementia who has a death wish for himself where he is tired of his age and life while eventually bonding with Eve about his own feelings of death.
Happy End is a sensational film from Michael Haneke. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, and a compelling story about a family unraveling amidst the chaos of the European migrant crisis as a backdrop. It’s a film that is a study of a family coping with their surroundings as well as being a different film of sorts from Haneke while maintaining his views on the dark aspects of life that is sprinkled with some humor. In the end, Happy End is an incredible film from Michael Haneke.
Michael Haneke Films: (The Seventh Continent) – (Benny’s Video) – (71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance) – (The Castle (1997 TV movie) – Funny Games (1997 film) - Code Unknown – The Piano Teacher - (Time of the Wolf) – Cache` - Funny Games (2007 film) - The White Ribbon - Amour (2012 film)
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