Bird focuses on 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams), who is being brought up by her father (Keoghan) in a squatter’s flat on a working class housing estate in Gravesend where violence and drugs are everywhere – including her own home.
But she soon comes into contact with a sensitive man nicknamed Bird (Passages star Franz Rogowski), who has returned to the estate he grew up on to try and track down his family.
Initially distrusting of him, Bailey eventually finds him to be a kind of mentor and protector, which gives her a new perspective on life.
For most of its run time, Bird offers social realism, excellent acting performances, moments of humour and complicated characters – not least the caring but flawed Bailey.
The portrayal of young people and their struggles with violence and drugs feels authentic, and evokes a similar energy to Arnold’s 2009 film Fish Tank. Bird often has an air of menace, but also a certain tenderness.
It is an excellent film – possibly one of the best at the London Film Festival – but there is a particular artistic choice towards the end which will divide audiences.