TWELVE-YEAR-OLD Bailey (the stunning Nykia Adams) has the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Her father is depending on her to be a bridesmaid at his wedding in a week’s time, her mother’s abusive boyfriend is nearing breaking point, with her younger siblings caught in the crossfire, her brother is on the brink of running away to Scotland with his girlfriend – oh, and her family lives in a rundown graffiti-covered squat.

So what Bailey really needs is a friend. And she finds that in the eponymous Bird (Franz Rogowski).

Bailey is linked with bird imagery from the get-go, with the first thing we see and hear in the film being the sound of seagulls. A budding filmmaker – though seemingly using it for more like escapism – Bailey pulls out her phone to record the seagulls but places it to one side when one gets close to her. Though probably there to foreshadow the coming of Bird, I prefer to delve into the folklore and typical symbolism of the birds themselves.

Though commonly seen as pests and rats of the sky, seagulls can represent adaptability and independence, as well as survival against the odds. It’s fitting, therefore, that our hardy protagonist is linked with them, and they serve as perfect foreshadowing for the rest of the film.

When home, her father Bug (Barry Keoghan, on top form) tells her that it’s his dream to get married and when she refuses her bridesmaid’s outfit, he sends her to her room, clipping her wings and forcing a rift between the two that lasts through the majority of the film.

While in her room, Bailey looks from the videos of seagulls to the feathers in her room – she’s a caged bird while her father parties.

She takes the chance to sneak out, and after witnessing her brother’s gang put the fear of god into a man, she runs away to a field and sleeps there, the fantastic use of shaky cam signifying the inner turmoil she can all but scream out.

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She awakens to the sound of blackbirds, a familiar normality of British birds that signify transformation and change – an otherworldly meaning to such common sightings. So naturally, it’s here where she meets Bird.

Like Bailey, they’re carrying a weight – they’re on the search for their parents – and though hesitant at first, she directs them where they need to go. They begin a tentative friendship, with Bird’s constant positivity (“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? The day?” they ask her when they first meet) yet oddities drawing her in, and Bird becomes the only person in her life not reliant on her.

Though a strange individual – they sleep on rooftops, their skirts flutter in the wing, they speak prophetically and even watch over her at night – they become the only constant in Bailey’s ever-changing life. When Bug insists on making money from a so-called “drug toad”, they’re there. When her mother’s boyfriend gets scary, they’re there.

But Bailey goes alone when her brother needs her. In an odd scene where she tries to talk to her brother’s girlfriend while her parents won’t let them in, Bailey summons a raven to pass on a message between the two.

Carriers of knowledge and messengers between worlds, the connection between Bailey and ravens serves as perfect foreshadowing for the conclusion of the story arc, as well as clearly indicating our protagonist as wise beyond her years. As well as making up for the absence of Bird.

Like the seagulls, Bailey’s drawn to the sea, and she seizes the opportunity to take responsibility for her younger siblings and heads there. There she sees black-headed gulls, and like the birds, she floats in the sea. We watch delightedly as she’s finally able to relax, be a child again, as she excitedly points out the fish in the water. Though the film soars to a terrifying crescendo a few scenes later, the sightings of the gulls remind the viewer of better times ahead.

There is, of course, a glaring bird metaphor I’m intentionally leaving out so as not to spoil it, but it’s safe to say that the film dances on the edge of magical realism, culminating in a scene where we learn Bird is so much more than what they appear.

And, when the theme reaches its climax and Bird disappears, Bailey’s life finally returns to a version of normality. Her father reconciles with his children and glibly admits that he’s now into “dad music”, indicating a growing maturity. The wedding goes off without a hitch.

Bailey finally puts down her phone and stops recording every aspect of her life.

And, after a final meeting with Bird, it becomes clear that Bailey has finally gained the positivity and insight that Bird has been gradually teaching her throughout the film – she can see through their eyes, as it were and she’s ready to tackle what comes ahead.

And, as the seagulls she’s linked with signify, she’s going to get through it.