Movie Review: In Andrea Arnold's 'Bird,' a gritty fairy tale doesn't take flight

“Is it excessively existent for ya?” blares successful nan inheritance of Andrea Arnold’s latest film, “Bird,” a 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams) rides pinch her shirtless, tattoo-covered dad, Bug (Barry Keoghan), connected his electrical scooter past scenes of poorness successful working-class Kent.

The song’s mobility — courtesy of nan Irish post-punk set Fontains D.C. — is an acute 1 for “Bird.” Arnold’s films ( “American Honey,” “Fish Tank”) are rigorous successful their gritty naturalism. Her fabrication films — this is her first successful 8 years — thin toward bleak, hand-held verité successful rough-and-tumble real-world locations. Her past film, “Cow,” documented a mother cattle separated from her calf connected a dairy farm.

Arnold specializes successful capturing souls, quality and otherwise, successful soulless environments. A dream of thing much is tantalizing conscionable retired of reach. In “American Honey,” bid comes to Star (Sasha Lane) only erstwhile she submerges underwater.

In “Bird,” though, this consciousness of otherworldly anticipation is made flesh, aliases astatine slightest feathery. After a confusing night, Bailey awakens successful a section wherever she encounters a unusual fig successful a skirt ( Franz Rogowski ) who arrives, for illustration Mary Poppins, pinch a gust a wind. His name, he says, is Bird. He has a soft sweetness that doesn’t different beryllium successful Bailey’s hardscrabble and chaotic life.

She’s skeptical of him astatine first, but he keeps lurking about, hovering gull-like connected rooftops. He cranes his cervix now and again for illustration he’s watching retired for Bailey. And he does watch retired for her, helping Bailey done a difficult coming of age: nan abusive fellow (James Nelson-Joyce) of her mother (Jasmine Jobson); her half relative (Jason Buda) slipping into vigilante violence; her begetter marrying a caller girlfriend.

The preamble of surrealism has nan ironic effect of breaking nan spell that has marked Arnold’s champion films. “Bird,” which opens successful theaters Friday, is, for illustration nan writer-director’s vivid erstwhile work, a movie only she could make. Arnold has described it arsenic nan hardest point she’s ever created, and it’s easy to applaud her for grasping astatine thing successful “Bird” that yet is conscionable retired of reach. A resolutely realistic filmmaker turning to magical realism has nan uncomfortable effect of making nan full movie, not conscionable nan Rogowski bits, consciousness inauthentic. Instead of being “too existent for ya,” “Bird,” pinch its in-your-face poorness and communicative extremes, ne'er feels peculiarly existent astatine all.

The astir incongruous parts of “Bird,” though, mightiness not beryllium nan mysterious avian friend. (Rogowski, a compelling performer, only ever feels half successful nan movie, arsenic if “Bird” can’t rather perpetrate to him being there, either.) Keoghan is simply a reliably arresting character who present feels retired of place. He doesn’t look moreover vaguely fatherly, and while that mightiness beryllium portion of nan point, excessively galore different things astir Bug consciousness much performative than genuine. There’s his strategy to usage hallucinogenic slime from a toad to salary for his wedding, for starters. Add successful immoderate karaoke scenes and nan sensation creeps successful that “Bird” is being little compelled by its ain communicative than it is by a pursuit of Arnold’s erstwhile style.

“Bird” whitethorn spell down arsenic a uncommon miss for Arnold but you tin still spot nan keenness of her oculus and nan nimbleness of her camera, pinch her regular cinematographer Robbie Ryan. And that’s existent ne'er truthful overmuch arsenic erstwhile nan camera is connected Adams, a talent, whose melancholy eyes opportunity much than each nan theatrics astir her.

“Bird,” a Mubi release, is rated R by nan Motion Picture Association for “language throughout, immoderate convulsive contented and supplier material.” Running time: 118 minutes. Two stars retired of four.