TW: drug use, abuse, gaslighting, sexual assault, rape
Australian director duos are all the rage now, whether that be Danny and Michael Philippou of Talk to Me (2022) or Colin and Cameron Cairnes with their third film Late Night with the Devil (2023). Another duo to add to that list is Jack Clark and Jim Weir with their debut feature Birdeater (2023).
Written by Jack Clark, from a story with co-director Jim Weir, the film follows bride-to-be Irene (Shabana Azeez) who is invited by her groom Louie (Mackenzie Fearnley) to attend his bucks party in a cabin in the woods. Louie’s friends Dylan (Ben Hunter), Murph (Alfie Gledhill), and Christian couple Grace (Clementine Anderson) and Charlie (Jack Bannister) all tag along, as well as ‘gate-crasher’ Sam (Harley Wilson), a threat to Louie given Sam’s close but undefined relationship with Irene before Louie.
I first saw the film at the 2023 Sydney Film Festival where it won the Audience Choice Award for Best Australian Feature, and I remember thinking it was reminiscent of Midsommar (2019) — an unexpected invitation to a remote area, a shitty male protagonist, and the unravelling of a relationship. Birdeater no doubt traded the Swedish cult for the cult of toxic masculinity in Australia, a concept recently explored in Kitty Green’s The Royal Hotel (2023).
At the beginning of the film, a honeymoon-like period shows Louie and Irene as a happy couple living together but the audience already knows that this reality is about to be shattered. As soon as Louie utters the line, “When I told the boys you were coming [to the bucks party], they got so excited”.The audience is hooked by the bird trap being crafted, anticipating the disturbing revelations to come.
The film does not engage in a traditional horror story, rather it tackles the fear and intensity that comes with relationships — and the all too common abuse. Irene quells her “separation anxiety” with a pill addiction, deeming herself responsible for Louie’s happiness while Louie shows textbook patterns of a narcissist, from the love bombing to the twisting of events to suit his interests. These tactics also trickle down to Louie’s friendship group: Louie’s friend Charlie seems to idolise, or at the least hold Louie in high regard, always finding excuses for his behaviour, while Dylan is the opposite, seeming very eager to crack the facade of Louie’s ‘nice guy’ persona.
The film benefits from having writer-directors as most of the key information is conveyed visually rather than through exposition. For example, a picture frame of Louie and Irene in private school uniform tells us all we need to know about the lengthy duration of their relationship while a Wake in Fright (1971) poster shows that the directors are not shy as to one of their inspirations. Also, anyone who boldly inserts a Microsoft XP sound in the middle of a scene deserves applause.
The score by Andreas Dominguez is dominating — adding to the tense atmosphere — and is in harmonious conversation with the editing by Ben Anderson who navigates the film’s back-and-forth pacing. Roger Stonehouse also delivers exquisite cinematography, from the red-and-green colour palette to the beautifully lit shots in the dark. As a fan of montages, I was not disappointed. An extensive use of closeups effectively trapped viewers in the perspective of each character for the longest amount of time possible.
The viewer is not afforded the liberty to spend more time with the two female characters, Irene and Grace, cemented by the meta line “I would appreciate it if you two pass the Bechdel test tonight”. Instead, the film is about the role of men as bystanders, and more importantly, enablers of abuse. Audiences may be divided over how gender politics is depicted, and whether the film succeeded by centring the men. Some of my frustrations were encapsulated in a scene where the two women are talking alone but Charlie tries to interrupt them while Louie is listening by the door.
When Dylan unflinchingly recounts his knowledge about Louie’s potential drugging and sexual assault of Irene on the day they first met, we are not able to see Irene fully process this information on her own. We do witness a discussion amongst the men that oscillates between labelling the relationship “a three-year-long date rape” before graduating to a ‘none of our business’ rhetoric, as “it’s not up to us as men to decide what [Irene] needs.” After all, the characters embody Australian macho culture, so we all know or have crossed paths with a Dylan or a Louie or a Charlie.
The more I think about the film, the more I find myself challenged: am I frustrated because that was what the directors focused on, or because that was how the male characters were behaving? I still don’t know.
Mackenzie Fearnley is perfectly cast as Louie because you cannot help but despise him, even as we see him be vulnerable in a select few situations. Shabana Azeez delivers a wide-eyed and restrained performance as she has the difficult task of playing a woman who has lost, potentially even suppressed, her sense of self to accommodate her partner’s happiness. However, it is Ben Hunter who delivers a standout performance as Dylan. He begins as an unapologetic and brash figure, before giving way to what is beyond the tough exterior, including Hunter’s comedic chops.
Jack Bannister and Clementine Anderson have powerful moments while Alfie Gledhill as Murph is delightfully weird, despite the underdeveloped and chaotic bromance with Dylan. Harley Wilson is as compelling and intimidating as Sam but does not receive enough screen time, especially as one of the male characters who asks Irene if she needs help, understanding that “no one asks for an intervention, that’s the point.”
Many questions remain lingering post-viewing: will Louie ever face the consequences for his actions? Or has the birdeater lived long enough to see themselves as the bird?
Perhaps that is the intention of Clark and Weir because what is left unsaid is just as important. Nevertheless, I am excited to see what these filmmakers do next, which may or may not be a “coming-of-age thriller set at schoolies”. If the logline is anything to go by, “feral” may again prove useful for marketing.
Birdeater is in cinemas from July 18.
