Barry Keoghan smiled from ear to ear when Andrea Arnold’s latest film, “Bird,” received a seven-minute standing ovation at its Cannes Film Festival premiere on Thursday.
Festival favorite Arnold, who brought the Shia LaBeouf-starring “American Honey” to Cannes in 2016 and her documentary “Cow” in 2021, received appreciation as audiences applauded the drama. “Thank you, that’s really nice but I really want to go and celebrate now,” she said as the room erupted in laughter.
While Keoghan was the biggest name on Bird, the loudest cheers went to his young teammates, including Jason Buda and Jasmine Jobson. Some of the actors, although they may have been on the red carpet abroad, were too young to make it to the show.
Written and directed by Arnold, “Bird” returns the director to the world of social reality and the kitchen sink of her dramas “Red Road” and “Fish Tank” (both Cannes Jury Prize winners). In a performance unlike any other in his career to date, Keoghan plays Bug, a young father covered in tattoos who struggles to devote much time to his two children, including his lonely and confused 12-year-old daughter Billie (Nekia Adams). Meanwhile, Rogowski plays the titular Bird, an eccentric who suddenly enters Billy’s life. Jasmine Jobson, best known for her role in “Top Boy,” also stars, and as with many of Arnold’s films, she sprinkles a cast of first-timers, including the likes of Adams and Jason Buda.
Arnold is a standout at the Cannes Film Festival, having won the Jury Prize on three separate occasions for The Red Road (2006), The Aquarium (2009), and American Honey (2016). In 2012, she served as a member of the festival’s jury. Her documentary “The Cow,” which showed the daily life of a dairy cow, was also screened for the first time at the festival in 2021.
Keoghan, fresh off his lead role in “Saltburn,” was previously at Cannes for his role in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” which premiered in competition in 2017. Last year, Keoghan was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Banshees of Inisherin alongside Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. “Saltburn,” in which he played deceitful college student Oliver Quick, earned him a BAFTA and Golden Globe nomination.
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