Title - Bird Box
Studio - Netflix
Starring - Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Jacki Weaver, DB Wong, Rosa Salazar, Lil Rel Howary
Writer - Eric Heisserer
Director - Sussane Bier
Release - 21 December 2018
This was a surprisingly impressive sci-fi movie by Netflix.
I don't know the novel it was adapted from but, for its concept, it looked like it was deftly executed.
It started off with high intensity which is always a good thing. But to follow that up with a well paced back story was the sign that showed the director Susanne Bier knew what she was doing.
The constant back and forth was important and did not frustrate or distract from the urgency of the present in its storytelling, making me hope that this was how the book was also written.
Sandra Bullock was stellar, very subtle in her performance this time around. DB Wong, Sarah Paulson and Trevante Rhodes gave compelling performances. This was also a good reminder of who Rosa Salazar is before she gets CGI in Alita: Battle Angel.
But the biggest surprise here was John Malkovich, who has not had such a fun onscreen character in a long time. His prissy and hateful attitude made him so entertaining and even got you on his side eventually. Bier directed him very well.
As for the concept that was easily compared to A Quiet Place, the end product turned out to be quite different. The mystery of it all served the story so well that even with a simple ending, it was still satisfying.
There were a few beats in the middle of the movie that I thought could have moved a little faster. Not by much, perhaps a 10 minutes cut down would have been more ideal. And I would also argued a little for more intensity to its simplistic ending.
But overall, a valiant effort from Netflix that still has not won me over as a movie-producing studio for television. I would still have loved to sit through this one in the cinemas.
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