This review was originally published as part of our Sundance Film Festival coverage. It is being re-posted to coincide with the film’s theatrical release.
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White Bird in a Blizzard
Director: Gregg Araki
Rating: N/A
Release Date: January 20, 2014 (Sundance)
With a name like White Bird in a Blizzard, I couldn’t help but find myself intrigued by the film. It didn’t hurt that indie darling Shailene Woodley (The Spectacular Now) starred in the film, either. There’s a simple connection drawn from the title to the film’s premise, yet director Gregg Araki never lets White Bird in a Blizzard ever grow stale. Rather, what starts off tonally as a pseudo-romantic coming-of-age film quickly becomes a dark mystery thriller that had me pinned to the edge of my seat.
Set in the late 1980s, White Bird in a Blizzard is about Kat Connor’s (Woodley) relationship with her alcoholic mother, Eve (Eva Green), and cowardly father, Brock (Christopher Meloni). As Kat matured into a young adult, her mother’s intense jealousy grew as the distaste of her relationship and life began to take over her psyche in a scary midlife crisis. When Eve mysteriously vanishes, both Kat and Brock face an uncertain future. As the years pass, the disappearance is nothing more than a curiosity until Kat returns home during a holiday college break when new information arises that could complicate her relationships with everyone around her.
It’s a bit hard to summarize White Bird in a Blizzard because of all of the plot twists and turns. As I implied in the introductory paragraph, White Bird in a Blizzard carries a certain connotation with it, yet the film is anything but straightforward. This is complemented by Woodley’s performance, which is vastly different than anything she’s done before. Araki is known for his use of sex and nudity (re: Mysterious Skin), and White Bird in a Blizzard is no difference. Woodley spends just as much time topless as she does clothed, and it came completely unexpected. However, it’s all within tasteful reasons that actually serve the plot. Much like the aforementioned Mysterious Skin, there’s a creepy, unassured tone underlying the entirety of the film that will keep you second-guessing everything and everyone, tempered by a foreboding notion that something bad is going to happen, and soon.
This sensation is perhaps most characterized by Green’s stellar performance. You can’t help but both sympathize with her and her unfortunate sense of marital and livelihood stagnation, yet you’re frightened and creeped out by her episodic attacks on Kat. Meloni, too, demonstrates his range by playing the assuming Brock, running counter to the rest of his filmography. Hell, even Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead) puts in a solid performance as Kat’s dimwitted ex-boyfriend.
White Bird in a Blizzard will keep you moving in your seat, whether it’s due to arousal or discomfort… which is perhaps the best way to describe a Gregg Araki film. It may be hard to find an audience due to the sexual nature of the film, but if you get the chance to see it at another festival or an independent theater, I highly recommend checking it out.