Little Birds 2011

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: There's a moralistic structure there, but it leaves Lily in a place that's scarcely more reassuring than the one she first abandoned. That's what makes Little Birds not just a lesson but, in its rambling way, an organic journey. Read more

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: Little Birds is strong evidence of a real talent... Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: It is hard not to be reminded of other movies - like Larry Clark's "Kids," Nick Cassavetes's "Alpha Dog," Andrea Arnold's "Fish Tank" - that explore similar territory with greater risk and originality. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Debut by writer/director Elgin James offers a sensitive but not fragile look at young friends in a crisis. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Though the plotting is problematic and at times as lost as the kids, there are bursts of brilliance and moments of aching vulnerability in "Little Birds" that make you wonder what the filmmaker might do next. Read more

Ian Buckwalter, NPR: Despair may be an emotion of emptiness, of the absence of hope, but that doesn't mean a movie about someone spiraling down into that emotion has to feel so empty as well. Read more

New York Daily News: Like its teenage heroine, "Little Birds" is stubbornly convinced of its own unique profundity. So it's a good thing this moodily self-absorbed drama redeems itself with just enough endearing innocence. Read more

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: The dreamy shots of a poisoned sea in "Little Birds" show an imagination sorely missing from its drab plot and characters. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Temple can, by this point, play the role in her sleep -- and she kind of does. Read more

Eric Hynes, Time Out: Little Birds' scenes of shoplifting shenanigans and pistol-whipping showdowns all too readily conform to indie-film form and style. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Little Birds is such a typical Sundance movie you almost don't need to see it to know where it's headed. To skip, however, would be to miss the arrival of promising new helmer Elgin James and gifted up-and-comer Juno Temple. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: The dialogue is as stock as the characters, and James's visual palette never surpasses the adequate. Read more