Saltburn star Barry Keoghan plays single dad in Bafta-tipped film Bird

A critically-acclaimed new film starring Barry Keoghan has received its UK premiere at the London Film Festival, a year after the Irish actor appeared in the viral hit Saltburn.

Bird, directed by Andrea Arnold, sees Keoghan play a chaotic young father raising his children on a rough housing estate.

The film has broadly gone down well with critics – although one particular plot point has proven divisive.

Keoghan previously scored an Oscar nomination for his comedic performance in The Banshees of Inisherin, which also starred Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.

The 32-year-old has also appeared in The Batman, Eternals, Dunkirk and The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

But it was 2023’s Saltburn which has arguably had the biggest cultural impact of his career. Emerald Fennell’s film shocked audiences at last year’s autumn festivals and several of its scenes went viral when the film later hit streaming services.

Brilliantly, one scene in Bird makes a particularly cutting reference to Murder on the Dancefloor, the Sophie Ellis-Bextor song Keoghan famously danced naked to in Saltburn.

The actor has also hit the headlines a lot in the last year for his on-off relationship with Sabrina Carpenter, currently pop music’s brightest star.

Interestingly, Keoghan turned down a role in the forthcoming blockbuster Gladiator II so he could shoot Bird instead – which is particularly surprising when you consider he isn’t even the main character in Arnold’s film.

But, as IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio noted, Keoghan is “superb in just a few key scenes”, while GQ’s Iana Murray said it “might just be his greatest performance yet”.

The Standard’s Jo-Ann Titmarsh added Keoghan’s portrayal as a “charming, volatile, loving and erratic father is a tour de force”.

Asked earlier this year about his choice between the two films, Keoghan explained: “I am a massive fan of Gladiator and a massive fan of that cast. It’s a shame you can’t do both. But that happens in this game. You can’t do both.”

He ultimately felt he made the right decision, however, describing Bird as “the most artistic experience ever for me as an actor”.

Most reviews have praised Keoghan’s multi-layered performance, with critic Bob Mann noting his character “is a loud, sweary, tattoo-covered, drug-taking, drug-dealing ‘lout’… but he’s also a parent who is trying to keep his kids on the right track and has a softer side that is quite charming.”

The film might have an outside chance in the Oscars race, but is probably more likely to show up at the Bafta Film Awards, or the British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).

Bird focuses on 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams), who is being brought up by her father (Keoghan) in a squatter’s flat on a working class housing estate in Gravesend where violence and drugs are everywhere – including her own home.

But she soon comes into contact with a sensitive man nicknamed Bird (Passages star Franz Rogowski), who has returned to the estate he grew up on to try and track down his family.

Initially distrusting of him, Bailey eventually finds him to be a kind of mentor and protector, which gives her a new perspective on life.

For most of its run time, Bird offers social realism, excellent acting performances, moments of humour and complicated characters – not least the caring but flawed Bailey.

The portrayal of young people and their struggles with violence and drugs feels authentic, and evokes a similar energy to Arnold’s 2009 film Fish Tank. Bird often has an air of menace, but also a certain tenderness.

It is an excellent film – possibly one of the best at the London Film Festival – but there is a particular artistic choice towards the end which will divide audiences.

Some viewers might feel the final movement spoils the film, but others will applaud the bizarre twist – as many critics have.

“Arnold starts dropping little hints early on that some supernatural or fantastical force is at work here, and it would spoil the movie to reveal too much,” said the Hollywood Reporter’s Leslie Felperin. “It all gets quite plot-heavy for an Arnold film.”

The Telegraph’s Tim Robey said: “Personally, I couldn’t follow Arnold over the dotted line into violent magical realism, however situated it might be in a young girl’s sense of fantasy.

“It’s a miscalculation, like playing your weakest suit mistaking it for a trump.”