''Little Birds'' is a 2011 American film written and directed by
Elgin James
Elgin James is an American filmmaker, musician and a former member of Friends Stand United (FSU), a Boston, Massachusetts area group in the early 1990s which has been classified by several law enforcement agencies as a gang.
James left FSU in 2 ...
, and starring
Juno Temple
Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011), ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), '' Mag ...
and
Kay Panabaker
Stephanie Kay Panabaker (born May 2, 1990) is an American zoologist and retired actress. She is best known for her roles as Jenny Garison in the 2009 reboot of '' Fame'', Debbie Berwick on ''Phil of the Future'', and Nikki Westerly on '' Summerla ...
.
The film follows two girls that leave home to follow two skateboarders to Los Angeles and is loosely based on the life of director Elgin James.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with Millennium Entertainment acquiring the North American rights to the film.
Plot
Lily and Alison are best friends living in a poverty-stricken California town near the
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf o ...
. The two are complete opposites: Lily is a suicidal rebellious girl who lives with her single mother, Margaret, while Alison is a cautious and careful girl who lives with her alcoholic dad. Alison finds solace under her uncle Hogan's automotives and horses while Lily wants to flee her troubled home life as soon as possible. Together, the two girls venture into their secluded town and join skateboarding boys from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
: Louis, David and Jesse, with whom Lily soon becomes smitten. Before the boys leave, Jesse kisses Lily and writes his number onto her arm, which upsets Alison.
Lily asks Alison to borrow Hogan's truck so they can meet up with Jesse and his friends in Los Angeles and Alison reluctantly agrees. When they stop at a convenience store, Lily saves Alison as she gets caught trying to return the goods Lily stole for them. The two soon find the three boys and Alison drives them to their place. While walking in the streets, Lily bumps into a hustler and she demands an apology. When the man tries to reason with her, David hits him over head with a skateboard and the five run away, leaving Alison in shock. The group settles at the boys' abandoned rundown apartment where other homeless teenagers reside. Alison tries to warn Lily that Jesse might be more dangerous than they think but Lily refuses to listen. Alison shares an intimate moment with Louis but quickly rebuffs him when he starts groping her.
In the morning, Lily and Jesse break into an empty house where Jesse explains that it used to be his home until his family moved to
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
but he decided to return to L.A. on his own. Meanwhile, Alison calls her uncle Hogan and apologizes for taking the truck. Hogan urges her to come home and Alison promises to bring Lily back. Back at the house, Jesse notices Lily's self-harm scars when they are kissing. He is intrigued by her suicidal demeanor and also reveals his scar on his chest to make Lily feel better. David discovers a dating website and convinces a hesitant Jesse to use Lily as a bait for
scam
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...
ming and stealing from older men. Lily agrees and meets up with an old man and lures him to their place where the boys, along with a hesitant Alison, threaten the man with a gun in exchange for money before setting him free.
Alison makes Lily promise that they will go home but David gets into an argument with Alison and throws her out of the group. Alison tries to convince Lily to come along but Lily refuses, saying that she is staying with Jesse. The two argue and their friendship is damaged. Lily continues to help with the scam and meets up with a middle-aged guy, John. However, John is a violent psychopath and overpowers the boys. He knocks out David and Louis while Jesse runs away, leaving a terrified Lily. John forces a crying Lily onto the mattress and prepares to rape her but he is shot in the back. The shooter is revealed to be Alison, who decided to come back for Lily one last time. The girls reconcile and Lily agrees to come home. On their way back, Alison pulls over near the beach. They both step out and enjoy their last moments in Los Angeles before finally heading back home.
Cast
*
Juno Temple
Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011), ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), '' Mag ...
as Lily Hobart
*
Kay Panabaker
Stephanie Kay Panabaker (born May 2, 1990) is an American zoologist and retired actress. She is best known for her roles as Jenny Garison in the 2009 reboot of '' Fame'', Debbie Berwick on ''Phil of the Future'', and Nikki Westerly on '' Summerla ...
as Alison Hoffman
*
Kate Bosworth
Catherine Anne Bosworth (born January 2, 1983) is an American actress. Following minor roles in the films '' The Horse Whisperer'' (1998) and ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), she rose to prominence with her role as a young surfer in the box-offi ...
as Bonnie Muller
*
Leslie Mann
Leslie Jean Mann (born March 26, 1972) is an American actress. She has appeared in numerous films, including ''The Cable Guy'' (1996), ''George of the Jungle'' (1997), '' Big Daddy'' (1999), '' Knocked Up'' (2007), '' 17 Again'' (2009), '' Funn ...
as Margaret Hobart
*
Neal McDonough
Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn Compton, Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers'' (2001), Deputy District Attorney ...
as Hogan
*
David Warshofsky
David Warshofsky (born David A. Warner; February 23, 1961) is an American film, television and stage actor.
Life and career
Warshofsky was born David A. WarnerAccording to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center fo ...
as Joseph Hoffman
*
Kathleen Gati
Kathleen Gati (born 13 August 1957) is a US-based Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Liesl Obrecht on the ABC daytime soap opera '' General Hospital''. She appeared on the television series ''Leverage'' in 2009.
Career
At the age o ...
as Sally Heron
*
Kyle Gallner
Kyle Steven Gallner (born October 22, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas in the television series ''Veronica Mars'', superhero Bart Allen in the drama series ''Smallville'' and Reed Garrett ...
as Jesse MacNamara
*
Carlos PenaVega
Carlos Roberto PenaVega (; born August 15, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He starred on the Nickelodeon series ''Big Time Rush'' as Carlos García, and is a member of the group Big Time Rush. He was also the host of the network's game sh ...
as Louis Estes
*
Chris Coy
Christopher James Coy (born May 1, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Calvin Bunker on Cinemax’s ''Banshee'', L.P. Everett on HBO's '' Treme'', Martin on AMC's '' The Walking Dead'', and Paul Hendrickson on HBO's '' The De ...
as David Riley
*
Joel McKinnon Miller
Joel McKinnon Miller (born February 21, 1960) is an American actor who is best known for portraying Don Embry on ''Big Love'' and Detective Norm Scully on ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine''.
Life and career
Joel McKinnon Miller was born in Rockford, Minnes ...
as Michael White
*
JR Bourne
David Bourne (born April 8, 1970), known professionally as JR Bourne, is a Canadian actor. He portrayed Chris Argent on all six seasons of the MTV supernatural drama series ''Teen Wolf'' (2011–2017) and was part of the main cast in the final s ...
as John Gretton
*
Mike Erwin
Mike Erwin (born August 31, 1978) sometimes credited as Michael Erwin, is an American actor who is best known for playing Colin Hart from 2002 to 2006 in the WB television series ''Everwood''.
Early life
Erwin was born in Dalton, Georgia, on Aug ...
as Mark Muller
Soundtrack
#"Tinted Soft Green" – Elgin James & The Suicide Gang
#"Tender Branch" –
Tift Merritt
Tift may refer to:
Places
* Tift County, Georgia, a county in south-central Georgia, United States
People with the given name
* Tift Merritt (born 1975), American singer-songwriter
People with the surname
* Andrew Tift (born 1968), British portr ...
#"Too Far" – Linee
#"This Town" – Linee
#"I Will Die Young" – Elgin James & The Suicide Gang
#"Another Man Don' Gone" – Odetta & Larry
#"September Gurls" –
Big Star
Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a new l ...
#"Anenome" –
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American musical project and band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990.
The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called '' Dig!'', and have gained media noto ...
#"Lily & Jesse's Theme" –
Chad Gilbert
Chad Everett Gilbert (born March 9, 1981) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band New Found Glory, for whom he plays lead guitar, sings backing vocals, and composes music. He was also ...
#"Boy's Theme" – Elgin James & The Suicide Gang
#"Alison's Theme (feat. Leslie Stevens)" – Elgin James & The Suicide Gang
#"Little Birds" – Tift Merritt
Development
James began working on ''Little Birds'' around 2009, loosely basing the film on his own life experiences. James was originally working on an autobiographical project about he and his best friend who left their small towns and joined a gang in Boston.
That film had
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
attached to portray James and
Nick Cassavetes
Nicholas David Rowland Cassavetes (born May 21, 1959) is an American actor, director, and writer. He has directed such films as ''She's So Lovely'' (1997), ''John Q.'' (2002), ''The Notebook'' (2004), '' Alpha Dog'' (2006), and '' My Sister's Kee ...
attached to direct. However, James was worried the film would ultimately "glamorize the violent lifestyle" he'd recently left behind, so he wrote ''Little Birds'' instead, substituting two fifteen-year-old girls for him and his best friend.
He chose to focus on the characters of "Lily" and "Alison" after seeing a teenage girl riding on the back of a bike in the
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf o ...
, with James saying "You could just tell that she was on fire and she was never going to get out of there", referencing how he felt about being trapped in his own small town as a kid.
Juno Temple
Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011), ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), '' Mag ...
was signed onto the film and James offered her the choice of playing either Lily or Alison. She chose to portray Lily, citing that she connected with the character more and "wanted to set her free".
Temple and James worked on the film together for two years, becoming close. They continue to collaborate
and in interviews refer to each other as "best friends" and "family." James has said he considers ''Little Birds'' to be a love song to the strong women in his life, including Temple.
After auditioning hundreds of actresses,
Kay Panabaker
Stephanie Kay Panabaker (born May 2, 1990) is an American zoologist and retired actress. She is best known for her roles as Jenny Garison in the 2009 reboot of '' Fame'', Debbie Berwick on ''Phil of the Future'', and Nikki Westerly on '' Summerla ...
came on to the film just one week before filming.
She and Temple became close by having sleepovers in each other's hotel rooms during the shoot and "watching bad movies and eating junk food together."
The film was produced through the
Sundance Institute Labs, with producer
Jamie Patricof
Jamie Patricof is a movie and television producer and co-founder of Electric City Entertainment and Hunting Lane Films.
Early life
Born to Jewish parents, Jamie Patricof is the son of Alan Patricof, the founder of Apax Partners, and Edythe ...
expressing support for ''Little Birds''.
James finished the film shortly before its screening in 2011 at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
before having to attend a trial for his actions while part of
Friends Stand United
Friends Stand United (FSU) is an American anti-fascist, anti-racist, and anti-drug group. It was founded in the late 1980s by Elgin James in Boston, Massachusetts, evolving out of the hardcore punk scene and in particular the straight edge sub ...
.
Reception
While debuting to favorable reception at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, when ''Little Birds'' had a wider release in 2012 it had much more divisive reviews. Some critics criticized it for being nihilistic and without hope. The ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' called it "An unpleasant little film about a sulking, self-mutilating 15-year-old girl."
Film School Rejects
Film School Rejects is an American blog devoted to movie reviews, interviews, film industry news, and feature commentary. It was founded by Neil Miller in February 2006.
The site was nominated for Best News Blog by ''Total Film'' magazine and na ...
called it "A prime example of miserabilist indie cinema and, despite strong craft, consistently a tough sit."
''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' called ''Little Birds'' "A touching and distinctive achievement", and ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' called it "An assured debut (...) vividly captures the excitement of rule-breaking adolescent adventure." ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' described it as being full of "Shimmering fatalism."
Some critics addressed both the film's dark themes and its strengths.
MSN
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.
The Microsoft Net ...
's The Hit List said "There’s such bleakness in this film, yet it’s one of the most visually beautiful films I’ve seen."
Betsy Sharkey of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said of the characters Lily and Alison "Theirs is a case of innocence not simply lost but crushed like a cigarette under the heel of a shoe." Also saying while occasionally "frustrating" the film also has "Bursts of brilliance and moments of aching vulnerability."
About the film,
Elgin James
Elgin James is an American filmmaker, musician and a former member of Friends Stand United (FSU), a Boston, Massachusetts area group in the early 1990s which has been classified by several law enforcement agencies as a gang.
James left FSU in 2 ...
told ''
The New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'': “My goal is to take the wreckage of my life and turn it into something beautiful. Hopefully, ‘Little Birds’ accomplishes that.”
[ ]Juno Temple
Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011), ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), '' Mag ...
has said, "I can’t predict what people will feel when they see it, I just want them to feel something." On the same note, Kay Panabaker
Stephanie Kay Panabaker (born May 2, 1990) is an American zoologist and retired actress. She is best known for her roles as Jenny Garison in the 2009 reboot of '' Fame'', Debbie Berwick on ''Phil of the Future'', and Nikki Westerly on '' Summerla ...
says "We’re not trying to be award-winning. We’re not trying to get people to love it. We just want people to see the film and feel something."
''Little Birds'' was named one of the 25 Best Summer Movies by ''Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'', and ''Paste Magazine
''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...
'' named it one of the Fifty Best Films of 2012. ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' included James on their 16th annual list of "Directors to Watch."
It was released in theaters on August 29, 2012,
and on home video/DVD on January 1, 2013.
Awards and nominations
''Little Birds'' was among the winners of the National Board of Review: Top Ten Independent Films of 2012.
References
External links
*
*
* {{rotten-tomatoes, little_birds, Little Birds
2011 films
Films set in Palm Springs, California
Films about runaways
American independent films
2011 independent films
American female buddy films
2010s female buddy films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films