Little BirdsMovie Reviews

So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 41 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 16+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

83

Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman
An alienated-teen movie that surfs along on the whims and casual cruelties of its central character runs a risk: It can wind up as random and undisciplined as she is. Instead, Little Birds is a touching and distinctive achievement. Read full review
60

New York Daily News |
The imagery is consistently striking and the themes, if well-worn, do often ring true. Read full review
50

Los Angeles Times | Betsy Sharkey
Breathtaking moments give way to boring ones; searing emotions vie with the exceedingly bland. Read full review
42

The Playlist | Gabe Toro
Temple and Panabaker are quite good in their lead roles, to the point where you start to hate the fact that the movie's thesis thrives on the girls being damned if they do, and damned if they don't. Read full review
40

Time Out New York | Eric Hynes
The problem is that screen mayhem has a tendency to translate as hip posturing, and Little Birds' scenes of shoplifting shenanigans and pistol-whipping showdowns all too readily conform to indie-film form and style. Read full review
40

Village Voice | Michael Atkinson
The dialogue is as stock as the characters, and James's visual palette never surpasses the adequate. Read full review
38

New York Post |
None of the actors has the heft to elevate this rote material, though to be fair, the task may be impossible. The dreamy shots of a poisoned sea in Little Birds show an imagination sorely missing from its drab plot and characters. Read full review
30

The New York Times | A.O. Scott
I don't think Mr. James intended to make a creepy, exploitative movie about teenage runaways - or, for that matter, a moralistic, cautionary tale of girls gone bad. But those are the default categories that Little Birds stumbles toward, perhaps because the filmmaker has not found a cogent way to channel his curiosity or his empathy. Read full review
25

Slant Magazine | Nick Schager
A film of precious, romanticized misery and squalor. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Little Birds on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Teen girls seek respite from bleak life in mature drama.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Little Birds, an affecting drama about two teenage girls seeking a respite from their bleak lives, is both moving and disturbing. They steal a truck and run away to Los Angeles, where they get involved with a violent skateboard gang; one is excited, while the other is apprehensive and wants to go home, creating a conflict that threatens their bond. There's non-stop swearing ("f--k," "s--t," and much more) and some realistic, graphic beatings that leave the victims bloody and unconscious, as well as a horrific sexual assault. Teens drink, smoke cigarettes, and take drugs; there are also a couple of scenes of one of the girls topless.

Families can talk about how teen gang members are portrayed in Little Birds -- as violent, homeless ruffians with no caretakers and little future. Does this seem realistic?
How does the movie depict drinking, smoking, and drug use? Are there believable consequences?
Talk about Lily's and Alison's friendship. Why does their bond start to fray? What keeps them together?

The good stuff

Positive messages: Friendship is the key theme of the movie. Lily and Alison have been best friends all their lives, but their bond is tested when they run away together and Lily becomes involved with a gang member. They say hurtful things to each other and seem to be moving in different directions, but when one of them really needs help, the other is there for her.
Positive role models: The teen girls at the center of Little Birds are growing up and seeking some kind of escape from their bleak existence, so they run away to L.A. and get involved with a violent skateboard gang. The gang members drink most afternoons, take and sell drugs, assault people with little provocation, and commit brutal crimes without demonstrating any kind of remorse.

What to watch for

Violence: Several brutal assaults, including a gang member beating a man's head with a skateboard, another man who's mugged at gunpoint, and a violent brawl that leaves several people bloody and unconscious. An underage teen girl is nearly raped by a violent adult; she's saved when he's shot by another teen girl. Other teens threaten each other, including pushing, shoving, using intimidating language, and spitting. The violence is very realistic, and people genuinely seen dazed and injured afterward.
Sexy stuff: A woman brings a guy home from a bar. A teen girl is shown topless while bathing and later takes off her top again while kissing a boy. They discuss going further but are interrupted. The girl pretends to be an underage prostitute to attract men who are then assaulted by her gang-member boyfriend.
Language: Near-constant swearing from all of the teen characters and several of the adults, including "f--k," "s--t," "bitch," "ass," "t-tties," "c--t," and lots of other expletives. Profanity punctuates the conversation in nearly every scene.
Consumerism: A man who's being mugged complains when he's asked to hand over his BlackBerry phone.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Teens frequently drink beer and get drunk while hanging out. Some of them smoke cigarettes. Adults get drunk in the midafternoon, and hang out in bars drinking and smoking. Some characters smoke pot and talk about being high. One character sometimes deals drugs.

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