Prime Time: Catherine Called Birdy (2022)

England in medieval times. It isn’t great fun. Especially if you’re a 14-year-old girl being prepped for marriage. Catherine aka Birdy (Bella Ramsey) is in that exact position. She doesn’t want to get married, especially to the kind of people who come courting, but her parents (particularly her father, played by Andrew Scott) need her to marry someone who will add a substantial amount to the family coffers.

Directed by Lena Dunham, who also adapted the source material, by Karen Cushman, into screenplay form, Catherine Called Birdy is a superb, pointed, comedy that uses the time period and attitudes to make a number of pertinent points alongside many moments that should give most viewers a hearty laugh. It’s a film about the ripples of change that can come from one person holding tight to their feminist ideals, but it is also about bonds of friendship, the good and bad aspects of being part of a family unit, and trying to come up with the most enjoyably florid insults.

If you don’t want to see a period film full of anachronisms (in terms of the film technique, sensibilities and self-awareness, and reappropriated modern music) then you should avoid this altogether, but I would recommend it to everyone else. It has enough of a proper narrative to join together every enjoyable “episode”, it manages to sneak some real drama alongside all of the humour, and the cast is chock full of great people doing great work.

Ramsey is perfect in the lead role, continuing to capitalise on her youthful appearance to convincingly play child characters with adult strength and/or smarts. Scott is also very good, a dad who can make lame jokes one minute and angrily lay down the rules that need to be obeyed in the next, and his scenes with Billie Piper (also excellent, playing the role of Catherine’s mother) show a warmth and love that many people would like to aim for. Paul Kaye is an unpleasant, but very rich, suitor, and is lots of fun, and there are great moments for Lesley Sharp (nanny), Ralph Ineson (a helpful peasant), Sophie Okonedo (a rich woman who marries Catherine’s Uncle George, played by Joe Alwyn), and Isis Hainsworth (Catherine’s BFF).

I haven’t seen a lot of Dunham’s work (and being unimpressed by Tiny Furniture meant that I wouldn’t rush out to check the rest of her C.V.), but this film is good enough to make me much more willing to check out other projects she decides to helm. I might even belatedly watch “Girls” one day, over a decade after everyone else was won over by it.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: Metal Lords (2022)

Ahhhhh the joys of discovering metal music. Arguably more than any other genre of music, aside from punk, metal speaks to the anger and frustration within us, something that is even more in need of an outlet when we are teens than when we are adults. As an adult, metal becomes more about the musical skill and ear-splitting wall of sound, generally, but it's hard to argue against the idea that most would first really tap into the music as a teen. It is, just like punk, the kind of music that doesn't need a lot of extra equipment to have a go at (a guitar and a loud amp will do), and it scares away a lot of people who may have already been viewing someone else as an outsider anyway. And it can become all too easy to lean further into that comforting world of noise, scaring more people away, either accidentally or deliberately, and claiming the outsider status as a badge of honour.

Metal Lords is the tale of two such "outsiders" who have decided to fight against the world together. There's Kevin (Jaeden Martell), a newbie to the music who is an excellent drummer, and Hunter (Adrian Greensmith), a talented guitarist who lives and breathes metal. Having said they will participate in an upcoming "battle of the bands" competition, the two struggle to find a bassist. Fortunately, there's a new way to present the songs if they team up with a cellist named Emily (Isis Hainsworth). Kevin thinks that could be a great idea, but he also ends up in a relationship with Emily, much to the displeasure of Hunter.

Written by D. B. Weiss, who has done the rest of his writing work for TV (including a small show you might have heard of called Game Of Thrones), Metal Lords is a mess, initially, and I can see a number of viewers giving up before it really hits its stride, which is actually just before the halfway point. That's not to say that the messy parts are bad, but they are certainly more enjoyable for those who can recall some awkward years in their teens, and for those who have at least dipped their toes into the hallowed waters of metal. Weiss maybe errs slightly as he makes his lead characters a bit too determined to keep some others at bay. Well, it's Hunter doing the pushing, but Kevin sticks with him throughout the first half of the film. The fact that the actors are great in their roles is another big help.

Martell and Greensmith both look as if they know their way around the respective instruments that they're playing, whether through natural talent or the editing of the film, and they feel spot on in their central characterisations, with the former being open to eventually connecting with other people as the latter keeps putting up metal-spiked walls. Greensmith becomes irritating quite early on, but he's supposed to be. That's all nicely in place for a grin-inducing grand finale. Hainsworth is wonderful as the young woman who could work well with the central duo, despite Greensmith's character viewing her as simply coming between them. Fiery-tempered, but also very sweet in the company of those she cares for, Hainsworth is at her best when cursing people out in her Scottish brogue and priming herself to jump on their heads. She also looks as if she knows what she's doing when it comes to the scenes that have her playing the cello. Brett Gelman also has fun, playing a doctor who hasn't connected properly with his son in years, Noah Urrea, Analesa Fisher, Phelan Davis, and Rachel Pate all have one or two good moments, and there's a very amusing little turn from Joe Manganiello, not to mention fun cameos from four fully-fledged "metal lords".

Director Peter Sollett works well with the stumbling script, keeping everything in place until things settle into the better sequences. He allows the characters to show their facades as being just that, he keeps the metal tunes coming, and a special mention should go to the absolutely superb use of "War Pigs" throughout, and he conveys a faith in the material that is infectious. While viewers may be unsure of how much of the journey they will fully enjoy, they can always sense that things are heading towards a destination that is both predictable and joyous.

I feel like I've been a bit harsh in this review, but it's important to warn people that the film feels a bit tonally erratic for a while. And I'm not sure how I would have felt about the whole thing if it had stayed that way. It doesn't though, and I'm glad that the right choices were made to turn this into something that should please anyone who enjoys teen flicks, metal music, and underdogs having their moment in the sunshine (metaphorically, because metal fans usually prefer the pitch black of night to any beach trips).

7/10

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