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Catherine Called Birdy, 2022
Birdy (Bella Ramsey) is the youngest daughter of Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott) and Lady Aislinn (Billie Piper). With the household in serious financial difficulties, Rollo begins to shop around for a wealthy husband for Birdy. Birdy does her best to put off her suitors with absurd antics, but she may finally meet a suitor who will not give up on his matrimonial intentions.
It's been ages since I've read Catherine, Called Birdy, a book whose cover evokes strong childhood memories even if the details of the story had faded a bit in my memory. While the pacing of the middle act leaves a little to be desired, overall I thought it was a fun, feisty film.
The best thing about the film is probably that it contains no overt villains and no overt saints. Catherine, who does not have to work and who has a nursemaid and who always has enough to eat, is certainly someone who is privileged in the 1200s setting of the film. Movies about wealthy characters, especially those who have it a lot better than the people living around them, can seem a bit tone deaf. I thought the film did a good job of acknowledging Birdy's advantages while also keeping you on her side in her resistance to marriage.
Ramsey is PERFECT in the lead role. Movie versions of adolescent characters, especially those from books, tend to skew way too pretty or way too precocious. Ramsey looks like a real kid, albeit a snarky, whirlwind. And that's what works so well in the movie. Birdy is a kid. The fact that she's had her period does nothing to change that she is very much still in a child's mindset. She still wants to be tucked in and told stories and get to spend the day poking at mud with a stick. It does a good job of driving home just how ridiculous it is that someone wants to marry her off to someone, much less a someone in his 50s.
The supporting cast is pretty fantastic, as well. Scott and Piper are great as Birdy's parents. They care about Birdy, but they also feel that they understand the real ways of the world and that they can no longer coddle her. Scott in particular pulls off something pretty slick in his performance--and credit is due to the writing also--by always keeping Rollo on the edge of discomfort with the transactional way that he is treating his youngest child. It keeps his character, a man who is shopping his daughter around and also administers painful punishments every time she drives a suitor away, from being some one-dimensional patriarchal monster.
But the supporting cast extends well beyond Birdy's parents. Lesley Sharp is great fun as Birdy's long-suffering nursemaid. Dean-Charles Chapman is very funny as Birdy's older himbo brother. Sophie Okonedo twice stands out as a widow who marries into Birdy's family and offers the girl sound words of advice. Isis Hainsworth and Michael Woolfitt are good fun as Birdy's friends Aelis and Perkin. Paul Kaye makes quite a splash as Bridy's most persistent, and most disgusting, suitor. Everyone plays their role perfectly and it's a rich ensemble who all play very well off of each other.
The film explores the way that Birdy's crash course into the world of adulthood leads her to increasing offense and rebellion. She moves from learning what a virgin is to outrage at learning that virgins are worth more. At every turn, her awakenings regarding her own biology, sex, and lust quickly veer into betrayals as they are all couched in her body as commodity. And the more the people around her act like it's okay, the worse it seems.
I also liked that the film acknowledged the feelings and lives of those around Birdy. Part of what Birdy comes to realize is that other people also have desires and hopes and dreams. Birdy is given to a very common perspective issues---especially for a teenager!--that she is the center of her story. It doesn't occur to her to think about what her siblings or her best friends want for their own lives. A big part of her character growth is seeing herself as a part of a community, even if the actions of that community might sometimes be incredibly unfair toward her.
The film does have some pacing issues in the middle. Once the dynamic is established--a suitor arrives, Birdy acts weird to drive him off--the film stalls just a little bit. Side plots about the people around her getting married/engaged are taken care of kind of hastily. But things definitely pick up in the last act, as Birdy must confront what it would mean to leave her family and strike off on her own. Fans of the book might not be enthusiastic about the way that the ending was changed, but I honestly didn't mind it. It's not as "realistic" as an ending, but who cares?
If I'd gotten to see this film as an adolescent/young teen, I would have loved it. It's just "adult" enough to feel like it isn't a little kids' film, but fun enough that it's not drab or too "real". The young characters actually feel and look like young people, it's genuinely funny in a great mix of banter and people stepping in poop. It's also got a really in-your-face soundtrack, which some people might not care for but I thought perfectly fit the vibe the film was going for.
Catherine Called Birdy, 2022
Birdy (Bella Ramsey) is the youngest daughter of Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott) and Lady Aislinn (Billie Piper). With the household in serious financial difficulties, Rollo begins to shop around for a wealthy husband for Birdy. Birdy does her best to put off her suitors with absurd antics, but she may finally meet a suitor who will not give up on his matrimonial intentions.
It's been ages since I've read Catherine, Called Birdy, a book whose cover evokes strong childhood memories even if the details of the story had faded a bit in my memory. While the pacing of the middle act leaves a little to be desired, overall I thought it was a fun, feisty film.
The best thing about the film is probably that it contains no overt villains and no overt saints. Catherine, who does not have to work and who has a nursemaid and who always has enough to eat, is certainly someone who is privileged in the 1200s setting of the film. Movies about wealthy characters, especially those who have it a lot better than the people living around them, can seem a bit tone deaf. I thought the film did a good job of acknowledging Birdy's advantages while also keeping you on her side in her resistance to marriage.
Ramsey is PERFECT in the lead role. Movie versions of adolescent characters, especially those from books, tend to skew way too pretty or way too precocious. Ramsey looks like a real kid, albeit a snarky, whirlwind. And that's what works so well in the movie. Birdy is a kid. The fact that she's had her period does nothing to change that she is very much still in a child's mindset. She still wants to be tucked in and told stories and get to spend the day poking at mud with a stick. It does a good job of driving home just how ridiculous it is that someone wants to marry her off to someone, much less a someone in his 50s.
The supporting cast is pretty fantastic, as well. Scott and Piper are great as Birdy's parents. They care about Birdy, but they also feel that they understand the real ways of the world and that they can no longer coddle her. Scott in particular pulls off something pretty slick in his performance--and credit is due to the writing also--by always keeping Rollo on the edge of discomfort with the transactional way that he is treating his youngest child. It keeps his character, a man who is shopping his daughter around and also administers painful punishments every time she drives a suitor away, from being some one-dimensional patriarchal monster.
But the supporting cast extends well beyond Birdy's parents. Lesley Sharp is great fun as Birdy's long-suffering nursemaid. Dean-Charles Chapman is very funny as Birdy's older himbo brother. Sophie Okonedo twice stands out as a widow who marries into Birdy's family and offers the girl sound words of advice. Isis Hainsworth and Michael Woolfitt are good fun as Birdy's friends Aelis and Perkin. Paul Kaye makes quite a splash as Bridy's most persistent, and most disgusting, suitor. Everyone plays their role perfectly and it's a rich ensemble who all play very well off of each other.
The film explores the way that Birdy's crash course into the world of adulthood leads her to increasing offense and rebellion. She moves from learning what a virgin is to outrage at learning that virgins are worth more. At every turn, her awakenings regarding her own biology, sex, and lust quickly veer into betrayals as they are all couched in her body as commodity. And the more the people around her act like it's okay, the worse it seems.
I also liked that the film acknowledged the feelings and lives of those around Birdy. Part of what Birdy comes to realize is that other people also have desires and hopes and dreams. Birdy is given to a very common perspective issues---especially for a teenager!--that she is the center of her story. It doesn't occur to her to think about what her siblings or her best friends want for their own lives. A big part of her character growth is seeing herself as a part of a community, even if the actions of that community might sometimes be incredibly unfair toward her.
The film does have some pacing issues in the middle. Once the dynamic is established--a suitor arrives, Birdy acts weird to drive him off--the film stalls just a little bit. Side plots about the people around her getting married/engaged are taken care of kind of hastily. But things definitely pick up in the last act, as Birdy must confront what it would mean to leave her family and strike off on her own. Fans of the book might not be enthusiastic about the way that the ending was changed, but I honestly didn't mind it. It's not as "realistic" as an ending, but who cares?
If I'd gotten to see this film as an adolescent/young teen, I would have loved it. It's just "adult" enough to feel like it isn't a little kids' film, but fun enough that it's not drab or too "real". The young characters actually feel and look like young people, it's genuinely funny in a great mix of banter and people stepping in poop. It's also got a really in-your-face soundtrack, which some people might not care for but I thought perfectly fit the vibe the film was going for.