A Bird in the Air (2011) - A Movie Review

A parrot found me.

A Bird of the Air is a 2011 film based on the novel, "The Loop," written by Joe Coomer. Fiona and Lyman are brought together when they discover a stray parrot. They figure out how to make a relationship work while studying the origins of this parrot.

Romance is romance. We’ve seen the romance stories where couples meet, and romance bells ring off from there. That’s not A Bird in the Air. This film demonstrates how we need to be tolerant of others' lifestyles to make a relationship work.

I have not seen any films with Rachel Nichols or Jackson Hurst, but they are great actors. Fiona and Lyman are two very different people. One loves to chat, and Lyman is a man of few words. You rarely see this romance dynamic.

Nichols and Hurst dig deep into their characters’ layers. You feel like you know them. Fiona is an interesting person. She snoops in others' business, but doesn’t like it when others (mostly her mother) ask her personal questions. Fiona even acts blind in front of strangers.

Although Lyman prefers solitude, he comes out of his shell more and initiates conversations. Lyman is a night highway worker. He helps people who have had accidents. A part of Lyman is attempting to discover what feels missing.

A unique voice is added to the story, and that’s a parrot. I’ve always been curious as to how parrots speak. This parrot has some sassy remarks. This movie would be your average romance without the bird. I learned more about parrots in Lyman’s research.

The parrot was played by two winged actors, Oscar and Meyer. Each parrot was used for a different purpose. One of them was actually more talkative, interrupting during scenes. It must have been interesting to act with a bird.

A Bird in the Air was directed by the late Margaret Whitton in her first and only time in the directing chair, after previously starring in films and television. When she read the story, Whitton was drawn to the unique storytelling about relationships. Whitton does an excellent job on the film’s tone, highlighting themes of identity.

The behind-the-scenes is an interesting portion of this movie. The last thing Whitton said she wanted to do was use CGI, and so she went against the rules of other filmmakers and cast real animals. With help from animal wrangler David Sousa, Whitton said she enjoyed the experience and didn’t find working with animals challenging.

Whitton researched a lot about parrots for an authentic vision. She looked after the parrot actors, ensuring a quiet space and only allowing essential people on set. Though they had some technical challenges, Whitton thought up ideas to keep the parrot actors centered in scenes.

Sound was another key element, with Whittier and sound designer Damien Volpe experimenting with different styles for the parrots' voices. This is what I love about movies. There’s more going on behind-the-scenes to bring films to life.

As I said in the beginning, this is a romance film about learning how to make things work. Would a relationship work out between them? That’s why they need to try dating. Lyman does things that upset Fiona, but this is where one needs to be tolerant and make compromises.

The film had more dark elements than I thought. It has grim themes about death, which should not be overshadowed.

We can’t let movies like these get stored in the Museum of Underrated Gems. A Bird in the Air is a sweet romance film. It’s streaming on Amazon Prime.