The Starling

Summary:

Lily and Jack are your A-typical parents-to-be, and their lives are looking up. Flash forward just less than a year, Lily and Jack’s lives have changed a lot. After losing their baby girl, Jack has landed in a mental health facility, and Lily has lost all of her motivation and drive. When our main characters need each other’s support the most, they are further apart than ever before. Will Jack and Lily be able to recover from their massive tragedy, or will they remain stuck aimless drifting down life’s river?

Characters:

The Starling focuses on two characters, Lily and Jack Maynard. After the tragedy concerning their daughter Katie, Lily continues working at a grocery store while Jack is a patient at a mental hospital.

Sebastian: 7.3/10

Review

Now I don’t know if this caught me on a good day or what but I actually enjoyed this film. This was a film that my colleagues did not like too much so I was not going in with high expectations and maybe that’s why this film was a pleasant surprise. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a movie that I think is top-tier cinema or something you have to see but it is a good, enjoyable and I would say heartwarming film. The story is quite dark and it delves into some difficult subjects that I would say are handled well overall. The plot of a couple losing their daughter makes you think the story is going a certain direction but instead, it decides to focus on the relationship between the husband and wife and how they are going to make that work after the tragedy which is an interesting and different way of handling the grief of that experience. The acting in this film is quite good as well with Melissa McCarthy, who I have never seen in a drama-type role, playing the wife who’s trying to hold everything together and get back to normal while her husband played by Chris O’Dowd is in a mental ward. I think they both do a great job showing the struggle and the steps they have to take to reconnect with each other. The metaphor of the startling bird really does a good, while obvious, the job of conveying the idea of the story. Now my criticism is that the story does pass slowly and the pacing makes it kind of boring at times. So, if you’re not prepared for a story that really doesn’t get going until about half an hour in then this might be a tough watch sometimes.

All in all, this is a good film with some genuinely emotional moments that worked for the most part and some characters that you hope overcome the odds. If you’re looking for a drama on Netflix then I would say check this out. 

Favourite Moment (Spoilers):

My favourite moment was actually when Lily was on the phone with Jack and she kind of half angrily/half sadly told him to come home so they could move on together.

Nathanyal: 6.5/10

Review

I don’t have much to say about The Starling, so this review is going to be short and sweet. For one, I want to mention that this wasn’t my kind of movie. I didn’t really enjoy it all that much and most of it did bore me. Besides that, I did enjoy the interactions between characters. Everything there felt natural, and I loved the way they handled some of the heavier elements and themes.

Overall, this was just an average movie for me. The beginning is definitely slower, and it did lose my interest. However, near the end, I loved the way it concluded, and I enjoyed the characters and their interactions.  

Favourite Moment (Spoilers):

My favourite moment in The Starling is when Jack admits he’s sick and that he needed help. I thought that was a powerful moment and I loved the effect it had on the rest of the room.

Austin: 6.3/10

Review

The Starling is a decent idea. I thought the plotline sounded captivating, funny but sad. The tragedy was actually well set up, but what I didn’t like was the lack of information after that point. The characters aren’t developed all that well, and the story moves so slow. I think this movie had a ton of great potential and some decent characters, but they take so long to develop. Nothing happens. Over half the movie is nearly a waste of time and pretty boring, which is unfortunate considering the ending was pretty decent. We finally get to the point, and the movie kinda-sorta comes together. I would have loved to dive deeper into our characters because it would have taken this from a mediocrely bad movie to a decent one. 

The other issue I had was the fact that the title of the movie didn’t mean a ton. It’s called The Starling and the bird is only mentioned a couple times. I really enjoyed the way it all came together in the end, but it should have been a bigger focus a lot earlier. The lack of things going on makes it hard for me to understand why they didn’t dive deeper into Lily and the bird. That dynamic should have been much deeper, and it would have done wonders for Lily’s character. Our saving grace is I thought the acting was really good, and Jack’s character was decently written. I feel like the actors weren’t given enough to work with to make this entertaining, and I don’t think this is funny enough to be considered a comedy.

To be totally honest, there really isn’t a good reason to watch this movie. The characters are only okay, and the story is neither funny nor that sad. There are a ton of movies that are so much better, and this is almost boring. If you are desperate for new movies, this does fit that category but otherwise, I would leave this one alone.

Favourite Moment (Spoilers):

My favourite moment was when Lily nursed the starling back to life. The comparisons started to come full circle, and it was a feel-good moment.