Birdeater

"Birdeater" a new indie Australian film making its feature debut, presents an interesting but slightly messy journey. The movie skillfully blends different genres while tackling the tough subject of a toxic relationship, leaving viewers feeling a bit uneasy yet engaged.

The standout moments come from its captivating fever dream sequences, adding a fantastic visual layer to the story. The plot follows Irene, who joins her fiancé Louie's unorthodox buck's party weekend, leading to unexpected and unsettling events. Louie's groomsmen's actions take the celebration into a wild, drug-induced ride, painting a darkly humorous and thought-provoking picture of young Australian men.

Although "Birdeater" isn't flawlessly executed, its willingness to explore challenging themes and the imaginative use of fever dream sequences make it a noteworthy contender in the indie film realm. For those intrigued by boundary-pushing storytelling that blends genres, this movie might just be worth checking out.

Very difficult to understand what anyone saying in this film because the dialogue is so muffled. At first I thought it was a British film. I got so excited when I heard the Australian accents because I adore Australian cinema. This is an exception to that rule. The plot had no direction whatsoever. Very confusing. There was no protagonist which makes this film even more uncomfortable. You don't know who you're supposed barrack for. They're all very strange undesirable characters. I didn't like one of them. So had no interest at all in one of them. It annoying to watch because of this and in all a poor attempt at film making.

I was so bored watching this, this is certainly a VANITY project - made by filmmakers for themselves, Aussies dont even care what an audience will think or FEEL in this case - you feel nothing because no surpises but there isnt a PLOT here. PLOT = STORY- this has none of that , a bunch of disjointed svcenes with mubbling dialogue is NOT a story. I implore the filmmakers and the people at BREATHLESS to study screenwriting. 30 minutes in and nothing has really happened.

But then searching online I find the guy who started the SFF Sydney Film Festival is a cofounder of the production company. So, the fact that all BREATHLESS film were accepted into the festival Not based on their merit is a CONFLICT of interest. And there have been far superior films made in SYDNEY that didn't get into the festival - explain that? Thid film is trying to be artistic, trying too hard to be different, so it has a unique voice. BUT to do that you need STORY, and this lacks that as well as the super loud sound design and music that drowns out the mumbling dialogue. On that note that sound design is too weird it wrecks the atmosphere of an already doomed picture. There is no strong anything here at all, the actors seem uncomfortable and the chemistry between the 2 leads is so awkward and is bad casting. And once again we are in the middle of the bush with a bunch of white people with the one token black girl, no diversity at all. The lead is not chiasmatic or interesting or engaging, just wooden and 2 dimensional. The film is shot well, so that's all I can give marks for. And 2 hours for this is way too long when you have no story to tell, using the film reference Wake in Fright as inspiration or in Homage to is just so wrong as it doesn't even come close. In the final 10 minutes the film tries to invoke a LESSON but it's too late when there was no story to begin with. People will say that you didn't understand the film but that's rubbish, in closing don't waste your time. Read my other reviews to see how supportive I am of the film-industry in Oz, I go and rent and buy all Aussie films and even go out to all the Q&A's so read my reviews and you will see what the very best of OZ Cinema has.

Billed as an Australian psychological thriller, whose inspiration clearly and proudly comes from one of the great grandfathers of iconic Oz cinema in the form of Wake in Fright (eagle eyed viewers will spot that films poster appearing in this film), filmmakers Jack Clark and Jim Weir herald in their directional debuts with the impressive if equally frustrating experience that is Birdeater.

Celebrating successful festival runs over the last 12 months and launching recently into select Australian cinemas, Birdeater embraces its "feral" moniker in parts as a planned to be quiet bachelor/bucks party weekend goes off the rails when past and present trauma between soon to be married couple Louie and Irene comes to the surface in a stereotypically boys only environment that has on this occasion become something else.

Building its early foundation with a great set-up, with Clark and Weir beginning their debut affair with some fantastic mood setting courtesy of memorable work by DOP Roger Stonehouse and some hugely atmospheric score work by composer Andreas Dominguez, Birdeater really races out of the blocks with a narrative loaded with potential but sadly the narrative juice at the core of this exploration of toxic relationships, mental health, male fragility and psychological warfare runs out of steam well before the half-way mark, a huge problem for this two hour exercise that is unable to sustain its early momentum.

There's still a lot to like here and it's not hard to see why the film became an audience favourite with attendees at festivals such as SXSW Austin, the Melbourne International Film Festival and the Sydney Film Festival as Birdeater is unafraid to tackle some fairly weighty (if perhaps overly used themes in Australian products) and the performances and filmmaking craft on display here are undeniably above average for a low-budget independent film made on Australian shores.

Getting a lot to work with in a feature that prioritizes dialogue above all else, all cast members of Weir and Clark's darkly comedic dramatic thriller acquit themselves well with leads Mackenzie Fearnley and Shabana Azeez in particular standing out with some well-rounded performances while Ben Hunter as wildcard and the slightly unhinged Dylan making a mark as a character that you're never sure of motivational wise or ability wise.

Standing out from a crowded marketplace filled with similarly aimed independent offerings that often struggle to find notice in Australia's not always welcoming local marketplace, Birdeater can be commended in a multitude of ways but there's no escaping that there's a noticeable inability to maximise what could've been as this initially gripping feature gives way to one you will be anticipating finishing more than once throughout.

Final Say -

There's a lot to like about Birdeater and there's evidence on display here that Jack Clark and Jim Weir have what it takes to make a mark locally and abroad but after a bright starting point, their film becomes more of what could have been not a contender, disappointingly failing to become a must-see it at times showcases to be.

3 dinner toasts out of 5

Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)

This is one of the best Australian films ever made. That's the first anyone has said that in many years since we usually don't make anything THIS good.

A psychological thriller with no violence, blood or gore. All verbal. That's something which I find very fascinating about this film. It has the guts to expose the reality of how people act, especially here in Australia where other films depict it very cliche. It's not afraid to make the viewers feel uncomfortable and red faced. Every situation in this film feels like one you've been through, and every character is someone you've hung out with. It's mentally insane how relatable all of this is - in good and bad ways. Each metaphor, each meaning, expands to something much larger. It's incredible.

The long breathable shots allow the audience to be impacted by such strong and raw performances from all of the cast especially during the dialogue heavy sequences specifically the dinner scene where it puts the audience in an uncomfortable position for an extended matter of time. I fell in love with the fast-paced, musically queued editing with those familiar Banjo-Kazooie and Microsoft error sound effects. After six viewings, the soundtrack has been on repeat daily. It will make my spotify wrapped next year 100%.

Give this film the support it needs to help the duo's next feature which is a schoolies thriller.