"Little Birds" : Beautiful Soullessness

Cinematic coming age is usually a mix of  teenage angst, maybe a road trip, a bad (or perhaps despicable) relationship with most authority figures, sex, drugs and bad decisions. "Little Birds" is a film that perhaps aims to be more than this by means of its form rather than its content. Rich in beautiful and eerie vistas of the Salton Sea and the painful boredom of life there. The audience is told many times about the hardships of life, about the cruelty of the world, but the story that tries to hold such broad statements is thin and bland most of the time. The film relies heavily of how many dangerously innocent bad choices Juno Temple as "Lily" can provide. The "little birds" that take flight for the big city are bound to encounter very predictable scenarios that will show them how scary adulthood is when you have no purpose in life.

We are presented with Lily (Juno Temple) and her so-called best friend Alison (Kate Panabaker). These teenage girls are typical opposites that attract. Lily seems to have some deep and hidden emotional issues; therefore, she is angry at the world, and hates being treated as a kid, hence the fact that she is indeed like most teenagers. Alison in the other hand is a sweet girl with her feet on the ground, she is a hardworking, caring and loving daughter to her absent minded father. Together they pass the time trying to figure out what growing up is all about. When they meet a group of rebellious teenage boys, who make themselves noticeable as they drink and vandalized stuff,  Lily falls for one of them and decides she is going to leave town to follow him in LA. Alison, of course, hesitates but follows, only to find out they should have stayed home(no surprise there). Robberies, underage drinking, perverts and murder are in store for this two rural teens as they are faced with this mad, mad world. At least that's what the story pretends to tell us.

The film suffers from a beautiful soullessness. A typical case of luxurious images with no substance. Trying to be edgy and original while presenting an all too known plot. Writer/Director Elgin James tries fiercely to push this idea of duality and completeness through the story. Of how Lily and Ali need each other. How we should not blame Lily for being so inconsiderate to the people around her, with the sole argument that she is a teenage girl, she never really gives us a reason to care for her besides trying to be charming. The adults in the film are, for all intents and purposes, useless. They seem to be as lost as the kids, perhaps that is the only valid argument the film presents. No one completely stops growing up, and life is an ongoing lesson. The way it tries to convey this message is what fails. The performances are good, we believe these girls are as they are presented. Juno Temple seems to have gotten down the part of the naive but precocious country teenager, as this seems to be a continuation of her role in "Killer Joe" earlier this year.

The existential questions posed on this story are too much for it. Very heavy-handed in terms of its aims to teach the audience something about maturing in a selfish world, in which only the strong ones survive. Lily and Ali end up scarred, both physically  and emotionally, but this "injuries" are supposed to make a deep change in their life for the better. I really doubt it does. The cinematography, like i mentioned, is great, the performances are good, but the film as a cohesive and unified piece is forgettable. "Little Birds" is out now in theaters for you to catch if causeless rebellion is your thing. Grade C.