jas-01673 Review of The Starling

The Starling (2021)

Melissa McCarthy really is a great actor but...

[5/10 · 27 September 2021]

I found this movie to be underwhelming. I really wanted to see more development with the characters and more focus on what this married couple was going through emotionally rather than just some on the surface story with a sappy, unrealistic ending. Some moments were so underwhelming I found them to be unbelievable. I read some other reviewers say this film seemed realistic in depicting people who have gone through trauma, tragedy and difficult subjects such as mental illness and suicide but honestly I found it to be a bit too clean/black and white...tragedy and trauma is a lot more messy than what is seen here. Chris O'Dowd's character just came across as too distant and selfish, and oblivious to his wife's grief. Almost as if he she didn't share the experience of losing a child with him. His psychologist in the mental facility seemed disingenuous and disinterested. I found some of the dialogue to be silly... And then it's all fine and happy in the end? Which just added to how unrealistic it felt. Also about half the movie was a boring soundtrack of songs that all sounded the same. Don't get me wrong, I love a happy ending but I was not impressed nor touched by this story. I didn't like the story surrounding the starling and the CGI was not good at all. If starlings are such intelligent birds as they tout in the movie, can't they use actual starlings? But perhaps the budget combined with limited locations and filming during a pandemic was to blame. I didn't think it was a terrible movie. There are a lot of great actors in this film. I love Kevin Kline and I actually do enjoy Melissa McCarthy as an actor in more dramatic roles along with Chris O'Dowd. I thought they went well together as a married couple. It was really the script more than anything that i found to be lacking genuine emotion. The film seemed rushed and I feel with such sensitive material, about a couple losing their child and the father ending up in a mental facility, they should have taken more time with it. I would definitely not pay to see this movie but if you have a Netflix subscription it's a good movie to watch to pass the time on a day you're feeling a little down or bored.