By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Lance Edmands
Starring: Adam Driver | Amy Morton | Brandon Wardwell | Emily Meade | John Slattery | Louisa Krause | Margo Martindale
Country: united_states
Year: 2013
Running time: 90
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1567279/combined
Chris says: “It is impossible to see BLUEBIRD without drifting to thoughts of THE SWEET HEREAFTER. Both stories are set in small towns and feature an incident involving a school bus driver. BLUEBIRD takes place in the remote logging country of Maine. The small town is dying. The ugly claws of the heavy machinery that pulls giant trees from their roots creates an ominous feeling of pending doom. Richard (John Slattery) is the machine operator. He is told that there will be cutbacks in hours because business is poor.
“Richard’s wife Lesley (Amy Morton) is finishing her rounds, driving the kids home from school. The last stop is the bus yard where the remaining children get out presumably to be picked up by parents or other adults. As the kids are emptying out of the bus Lesley notices a bluebird that is flying about inside. She shoos the bird away and packs up for home. The next morning Lesley spots a shoe dangling from a seat. The shoe is attached to a small child who is nearly frozen after spending the night on the bus. Lesley descends into a deep depression while the child labors under life support and the adults in the community circle around to place the blame on someone in particular. That someone is Lesley, in spite of the fact that the child’s grandmother (Margo Martindale), who is his primary guardian, and his pill-popping alcoholic mother Marla (Louisa Krause), who forgot to pick him up at the bus yard, are, at minimum, equally to blame. Once a scapegoat is fingered, reversing the process is difficult to
impossible.
“As Lesley continues her withdrawal, her husband Richard and daughter Paula (Emily Meade) struggle with their own problems. Richard nearly kills a coworker when a huge bundle of logs collapses due to his miscalculations. Paula is experimenting with sex largely to forget the stress in her parents’ marriage. Then, Lesley ends up behind bars. Marla suddenly is overcome by her motherly instincts. The grandmother never leaves the hospital, maintaining a constant bedside vigil.
“It is impossible not to see the bluebird as a metaphor: a last gasp of hope before the impending doom which dictates one-industry communities such as this Maine logging town will soon be lost forever. First time director Lance Edmands has the skill to get excellent performances out of his actors. What he lacks is a comparable visual sense. Here lies a squandered opportunity. The desolation of the disappearing community of BLUEBIRD seems bland rather than wondrous. 3 cats
“(BLUEBIRD screened at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.)”