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The Starling
A 2021 Netflix production, The Starling is an emotionally manipulative look at familiar cinematic territory that does make some unusual moves we don't see coming and does wrap things up a little too conveniently, but is still worth a look thanks to some superb performances.
Lilly and Jack Maynard lost their baby daughter, Kate, a year ago. Kate's death motivated Jack to attempt suicide and end up institutionalized. On the surface, it appears that Lilly has just buried all of her feelings about what happened and is just trying to help Jack by coming to family night at the hospital every Tuesday. In an attempt to move on, Kate's attempt to re-start her garden find her in an actual battle with a starling, who keeps attacking Lilly in order to protect her babies, but these attacks, along with her opening up to a psychiatrist turned vet named Larry Fine, begin an actual healing process for Lilly.
The screenplay for this somewhat original take on the grieving process is by Matt Harris, whose primary experience in filmmaking is in the documentary genre, but he shows promise here with a story that challenges the viewer at every turn as we are forced to accept an actually relationship develop between a human being and a bird and how it might be a good thing for both of them.
We aren't provided details about what happened to Kate, but it becomes irrelevant as we see that Jack is wracked with guilt over what happened. It was interesting that all we learned was that Jack overslept. It's a little confusing when it's revealed that Jack is afraid to leave the hospital, but is fighting the treatment he is getting there. We're almost ready to give up when Jack doesn't want to see Lilly anymore. On the other hand, we're fascinated as Lilly actually starts opening up to Dr. Fine. Didn't understand the lunacy of him being a former shrink turned vet, but it brought a nice bit of lunacy to the proceedings that kept the story from being such a downer. As much as we want to see Lilly and Jack work things out, most of the actually work is skipped over, leading to a rushed conclusion that is a little pat and convenient.
The direction by Theodore Melfi, who directed 2016 Best Picture nominee Hidden Figures, is a little overheated, especially in those opening shots of the starlings swooping in on people, almost giving the story the feel of a horror film, but his work on those scenes of Lilly dealing with the house and the garden possesses style and sensitivity.
Melissa McCarthy, who was directed by Melfi in St. Vincent delivers a lovely and often moving performance as Lily, but it's Chris O'Dowd, who does the powerhouse work that keeps this movie on sizzle as the deeply tortured Jack. I haven't seen a lot of O'Dowd's work, but this was a mesmerizing performance worthy of an Oscar nomination . Oscar winner Kevin Kline keeps it light and airy as Dr. Fine, allowing McCarthy's character to move their scenes together. Timothy Olyphant, Loretta Devine, and Daveed Diggs make the most of thankless roles, but it's the work of McCarthy and O'Dowd that kept me invested here.
A 2021 Netflix production, The Starling is an emotionally manipulative look at familiar cinematic territory that does make some unusual moves we don't see coming and does wrap things up a little too conveniently, but is still worth a look thanks to some superb performances.
Lilly and Jack Maynard lost their baby daughter, Kate, a year ago. Kate's death motivated Jack to attempt suicide and end up institutionalized. On the surface, it appears that Lilly has just buried all of her feelings about what happened and is just trying to help Jack by coming to family night at the hospital every Tuesday. In an attempt to move on, Kate's attempt to re-start her garden find her in an actual battle with a starling, who keeps attacking Lilly in order to protect her babies, but these attacks, along with her opening up to a psychiatrist turned vet named Larry Fine, begin an actual healing process for Lilly.
The screenplay for this somewhat original take on the grieving process is by Matt Harris, whose primary experience in filmmaking is in the documentary genre, but he shows promise here with a story that challenges the viewer at every turn as we are forced to accept an actually relationship develop between a human being and a bird and how it might be a good thing for both of them.
We aren't provided details about what happened to Kate, but it becomes irrelevant as we see that Jack is wracked with guilt over what happened. It was interesting that all we learned was that Jack overslept. It's a little confusing when it's revealed that Jack is afraid to leave the hospital, but is fighting the treatment he is getting there. We're almost ready to give up when Jack doesn't want to see Lilly anymore. On the other hand, we're fascinated as Lilly actually starts opening up to Dr. Fine. Didn't understand the lunacy of him being a former shrink turned vet, but it brought a nice bit of lunacy to the proceedings that kept the story from being such a downer. As much as we want to see Lilly and Jack work things out, most of the actually work is skipped over, leading to a rushed conclusion that is a little pat and convenient.
The direction by Theodore Melfi, who directed 2016 Best Picture nominee Hidden Figures, is a little overheated, especially in those opening shots of the starlings swooping in on people, almost giving the story the feel of a horror film, but his work on those scenes of Lilly dealing with the house and the garden possesses style and sensitivity.
Melissa McCarthy, who was directed by Melfi in St. Vincent delivers a lovely and often moving performance as Lily, but it's Chris O'Dowd, who does the powerhouse work that keeps this movie on sizzle as the deeply tortured Jack. I haven't seen a lot of O'Dowd's work, but this was a mesmerizing performance worthy of an Oscar nomination . Oscar winner Kevin Kline keeps it light and airy as Dr. Fine, allowing McCarthy's character to move their scenes together. Timothy Olyphant, Loretta Devine, and Daveed Diggs make the most of thankless roles, but it's the work of McCarthy and O'Dowd that kept me invested here.