Little White Lies #105 - Bird

Little White Lies #105 - Bird

Writer/director Andrea Arnold is an artist whose distinctive voice and arresting style have, rightfully so, established her as one of the greatest filmmakers in contemporary British cinema. For our latest print edition, we take inspiration from her sixth feature, Bird, an urban fable set in Kent about the burgeoning friendship between a rebellious girl on the cusp of teendom and a mysterious stranger searching for his roots.

Bird sees Arnold’s trademark, emotionally-heightened social realism slowly evolving into something a lot more surreal. Having only dipped her toes in the waters of myth and magical realism in the past, here she ambitiously saturates her work in the expansive field of the fantastical in more forceful ways, something that convincingly emerges through the ethereal allure of Franz Rogowski as the otherworldly titular figure. The film also features outstanding performances by newcomer Nykiya Adams as 12-year old protagonist Bailey, whose point of view grounds and shapes Arnold’s filmmaking, and Barry Keoghan as anarchist dad and psychedelic toad-whisperer, Bug.

This issue comes together as a wider celebration of Arnold’s craft, includes interviews with director and cast, as well as a dossier delving into and reappraising the filmmaker’s incredible back catalogue.

About Little White Lies:

Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Mo