The Bird (2022)

The Bird is about the reaction of human beings to imposed duties and foisted guilt, and how the intellect often withers into impotence in the presence of these more visceral forces. A timid man in a suit knocks politely at the door of a cottage, and is granted entry by an elderly woman, who rebukes him for his tardiness. The man is Frank; an accredited academic. The woman is Philippa, his indomitable mother. This is their home. Both are in low spirits - an academic insult has left Frank disillusioned with his entire domain of enquiry, and Philippa has spent the day plagued by the foreshadowing of ill-fortune. Her omen proves true; Frank has a wife and an infant son, and he'd like to fulfil his paternal obligation by moving in with them. Unfortunately, as Philippa points out, his paternal duty is not as pressing as his filial one. We live in a world of debt and repayment, and Frank has not finished paying back what he owes. In fact, he never will, for, as his mother reminds him, she will never die. Of course not - how could he have forgotten. However, as per the original plan, Catherine, Frank's wife, arrives at the house to take him away. Despite Philippa's protests, Catherine is not as easily cowed as her husband. Frank watches, powerless, as the two matriarchs bitterly clash over his future. We're left wondering whether he will ever escape from the oppressive mesh of contradictions concocted by his mother, or if he is condemned to be churned through the same cyclical mechanisms for the rest of his days.