I’m not quite sure what I expect of Lena Dunham these days … but this wasn’t it. The semi-infamous writer/director oft criticized for over-sexualization went in a rather different direction than usual taking on medieval YA heroine Catherine Called Birdy. The result was better-than-expected, but nothing anyone would put in a “must see” category, including Birdy herself.
The movie goes to great lengths to describe Lady Catherine aka “Birdy” (Bella Ramsey) as one big pain-in-the-ass. We accept her pain-in-the-assery as 1) nobody should be forced to marry against their will, especially if they’re an immature teenager and 2) we have little choice. The movie is almost entirely about Birdy and how she feels about living in a castle and seeing her hot cousin marry somebody else.
And so we smile and wink as Birdy foils each suitor in turn. Some she beats with a mistaken identity; she she thwarts by demonstrating appalling behavior, and one she even defeats by burning down the outhouse. Oh, that Birdy.
Putting up with Birdy’s shenanigans are Birdy’s perpetually pregnant mother, Lady Aislinn (Billie Piper), and the person I think steals the show, Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott), who comes off as perhaps the best you can hope
for from a man who has to sell off his daughter to save the rest of his home and family. Part of him knows it ain’t right, but whatchagonnado? If he fails to trade Birdy for a worthy dowry, everybody loses. Birdy, of course, doesn’t give a crap. If dad gets embarrassed in her quest to destroy suitors, that’s just an added bonus.
Oh, what a lark the middle ages were, huh?
So a great deal of this film is Birdy being Birdy and the supporting cast playing the SMH game. For the most part, it’s cute. It gets less cute when you realize the extent to which the family fortunes rely on this headstrong yet completely irresponsible force of nature. Hence, I think the film will appeal to misunderstood teens and families alike, but it’s not for anybody who might lose patience with Birdy’s self-involved antics, which, admittedly, is a reasonable description of anybody not automatically empathic with the character. For some, this Birdy is a fleeting and c tweeting delight; others, especially authoritarians, will simply flip this movie the bird.
Lady Catherine had the spirit to show
That any arranged marriage was her foe
Friends found her deluded
And hence she concluded:
“I’ll just take my castle and go”
Rated PG-13, 108 Minutes
Director: Lena Dunham
Writer: Lena Dunham
Genre: Coming of bitter age
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Budding teen feminists
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The kind of guy who insists upon a trophy wife
