Directed by Joanne Mitchell. The film stars Rebecca Calder, Jay Taylor, James Fleet, Sacharissa Claxton and Jelena Moore.
Horror thrillers about warped and lonely individuals have been done a million times by now, and trying to put a unique stamp on such a premise can be challenging when it has already been extensively explored within that genre. This is one task that Broken Bird chooses to tackle head first, and though it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it does exactly what it needs to get under your skin.
The film constantly finds ways to throw the audience off from the moment it starts. Just when it appears to be going in one direction it decides to present something else. This approach works heavily in Mitchell’s favour as a director as it allows her to not only to play with expectations but also to open up the visual creativity of the film as a whole. By putting the audience firmly in the shoes of Rebecca Calder’s Sybil, the film often tends to lean towards surreal and over the top fantasy sequences that really showcases Mitchell’s directing chops at their fullest. Even the scenes in-between those moments have an assured confidence to their direction with its cold cinematography and stylistic camera moves.
However, the film really shines in the lead performance from the formerly mentioned Rebecca Calder. She adds a deranged presence to her character that never goes too far. She always stays within a certain box she has set herself up in, which only breaks down during moments of vulnerability or danger. There’s always something brewing beneath the surface, and Calder brilliantly conveys this during the film’s more twisted scenes.
With all that being said, the film itself can feel a bit lost at times. Though its tone is spot on and its occasional use of dark humour is very welcome, there are some moments where the pacing doesn’t necessarily align with the tension the audience is meant to feel. This becomes more noticeable in the film’s final act where a lot is revealed in a very short space of time to make way for a big conclusion. If it had just taken the last few scenes and drawn them out slightly for the sake of suspense, then I think a lot of what is revealed in these final moments would have the impact that was initially intended.
There is a lot to like about Broken Bird. From its confident direction to its stellar lead performance, the film knows the story it is trying to tell and how it wants to tell it. Despite some pacing issues here and there it still successfully sticks the landing in more ways than one.
