| Action, Thriller, Suspense |
Director: Adam Mason
Writers: Adam Mason, Simon Boyes
Cast: KJ ApaSofia Carson, Craig Robinson, Bradley Whitford, Peter Stormare, Demi Moore
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 11, 2020
Runtime: 1h 30m
Starring KJ Apa as a COVID-immune delivery boy, this Michael Bay-produced response to the pandemic somehow makes COVID even less fun.
WHAT’S THE STORY?
SONGBIRD takes place in 2024, with a deadly pandemic ravaging the United States. In an attempt to control the airborne COVID virus, the government has instituted harsh lockdowns and curfews and put the Department of Sanitation in charge of moving all the sick to a quarantine zone. When health agents start removing occupants in his girlfriend Sara’s (Sofia Carson) virus-ridden apartment building, courier Nico (KJ Apa) — able to roam freely as one of the “Immunies” — becomes desperate to get her out. As Nico tries to make an escape for them, we meet the others connected to his plan: a wealthy married couple (Bradley Whitford, Demi Moore) whose daughter has an autoimmune disease, a small-business owner (Craig Robinson), an aspiring singer (Alexandria Daddario), and a disabled veteran (Paul Walter Hauser).
MOVIE REVIEW:
Technically, this qualifies as a “thrill ride” — as in, it has unpleasant ups and downs, there’s jerky camera work that leaves you queasy, and it goes nowhere in a hurry. Certainly, recognition is due for managing to make a movie while respecting quarantine restrictions: This is guerilla filmmaking with an exclamation mark. Shot on iPhones and laptops, it truly is a feat. But just like the quarantine-staple Zoom meeting, things sometimes get lost in the static. Songbird takes leaps in logic that are impossible to get past. The reliance on tight, handheld camera work is reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project. And it’s all melodrama, all the time: The musical score gets a 5 out of 5 violins.
Most of the acting is solid. But the disjointed filming seems to have translated into performances that don’t quite fit together. Where it’s most noticeable is with Peter Stormare, an actor who’s known for playing some pretty over-the-top bad guys. As the sleazy head of the Department of Sanitation, his power has run amok in a way that doesn’t make sense. Tasked with getting the infected into the Q-Zone, he stabs the healthy from time to time for reasons that are unclear. Sometimes, they seem at cross-purposes with his own needs. And while his fantastically ridiculous character might be right at home in a Coen brothers or superhero movie (both of which are in his wheelhouse), he feels out of place in this film, which is attempting to focus on the humanity of those struggling with loneliness and human connection. “Attempting,” though, is the best word. Songbird never quite achieves what it sets out to accomplish, but it certainly deserves a tip of the hat for trying to make a movie about a universally trying time.
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