Saltburn star Barry Keoghan plays single dad in Bafta-tipped film Bird

A critically-acclaimed new film starring Barry Keoghan has acquired its UK premiere on the London Film Festival, a 12 months after the Irish actor appeared in the viral hit Saltburn.

Bird, directed by Andrea Arnold, sees Keoghan play a chaotic younger father elevating his kids on a tough housing property.

The film has broadly gone down properly with critics – though one explicit plot level has confirmed divisive.

Keoghan beforehand scored an Oscar nomination for his comedic efficiency in The Banshees of Inisherin, which additionally starred Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.

The 32-year-old has additionally appeared in The Batman, Eternals, Dunkirk and The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

But it was 2023’s Saltburn which has arguably had the most important cultural impression of his profession. Emerald Fennell’s film shocked audiences ultimately 12 months’s autumn festivals and a number of other of its scenes went viral when the film later hit streaming providers.

Brilliantly, one scene in Bird makes a very chopping reference to Murder on the Dancefloor, the Sophie Ellis-Bextor track Keoghan famously danced bare to in Saltburn.

The actor has additionally hit the headlines rather a lot in the final 12 months for his on-off relationship with Sabrina Carpenter, at present pop music’s brightest star.

Interestingly, Keoghan turned down a job in the forthcoming blockbuster Gladiator II so he may shoot Bird as an alternative – which is especially stunning when you think about he is not even the primary character in Arnold’s film.

But, as IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio famous, Keoghan is “superb in just a few key scenes”, whereas GQ’s Iana Murray mentioned it “might just be his greatest performance yet”.

The Standard’s Jo-Ann Titmarsh added Keoghan’s portrayal as a “charming, volatile, loving and erratic father is a tour de force”.

Asked earlier this 12 months about his selection between the 2 movies, Keoghan defined: “I am a massive fan of Gladiator and a massive fan of that cast. It’s a shame you can’t do both. But that happens in this game. You can’t do both.”

He in the end felt he made the precise determination, nevertheless, describing Bird as “the most artistic experience ever for me as an actor”.

Most critiques have praised Keoghan’s multi-layered efficiency, with critic Bob Mann noting his character “is a loud, sweary, tattoo-covered, drug-taking, drug-dealing ‘lout’… but he’s also a parent who is trying to keep his kids on the right track and has a softer side that is quite charming.”

The film might need an out of doors likelihood in the Oscars race, however might be extra prone to present up on the Bafta Film Awards, or the British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).

Bird focuses on 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams), who’s being introduced up by her father (Keoghan) in a squatter’s flat on a working class housing property in Gravesend the place violence and medicines are all over the place – together with her own residence.

But she quickly comes into contact with a delicate man nicknamed Bird (Passages star Franz Rogowski), who has returned to the property he grew up on to try to monitor down his household.

Initially distrusting of him, Bailey finally finds him to be a type of mentor and protector, which provides her a brand new perspective on life.

For most of its run time, Bird provides social realism, wonderful performing performances, moments of humour and complex characters – not least the caring however flawed Bailey.

The portrayal of younger individuals and their struggles with violence and medicines feels genuine, and evokes the same power to Arnold’s 2009 film Fish Tank. Bird usually has an air of menace, but additionally a sure tenderness.

It is a wonderful film – probably among the finest on the London Film Festival – however there’s a explicit creative selection in direction of the top which is able to divide audiences.

Some viewers would possibly really feel the ultimate motion spoils the film, however others will applaud the weird twist – as many critics have.

“Arnold starts dropping little hints early on that some supernatural or fantastical force is at work here, and it would spoil the movie to reveal too much,” mentioned the Hollywood Reporter’s Leslie Felperin. “It all gets quite plot-heavy for an Arnold film.”

The Telegraph’s Tim Robey mentioned: “Personally, I couldn’t follow Arnold over the dotted line into violent magical realism, however situated it might be in a young girl’s sense of fantasy.

“It’s a miscalculation, like taking part in your weakest swimsuit mistaking it for a trump.”