The Starling is an American comedy-drama movie that had its worldwide premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2021, and will be released digitally on September 17, 2021, on Netflix. The film is written by Matt Harris and is directed by Theodore Melfi. The storyline revolves around the lives of a married couple who face certain hardships in their relationship, and the wife Lilly becomes obsessed with killing the starling who attacks her.
She seeks help from her friend and psychologist Larry, and they soon develop a good bonding and help each other to acknowledge, explore and confront their problems. The film has several comical elements that surely make it a comedy film but is it worth watching or not depends on the audience’s reception. With its world premiere being held at the TIFF, it will be interesting to know what the reviews have to say about the film before its digital release.
The Starling TIFF Review
The Starling had its worldwide premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 2, 2021. The film has received quite a number of mixed responses if reviews are to be seen. In a review by Louise Sky, The Starling is said to lack a gripping storyline, and a lot of melodrama surely hasn’t been in favor of the film. In another review by Guy Lodge for Variety, the Starling has been criticized heavily for the improper usage of the Starling metaphor.
But also has praise for the character of Lily and the idea of a woman-centered comedy. Even though the film’s background score seems off beat and doesn’t go with the mood, the movie can be watched by a receptive and emotional audience. The emotional angle seems to have been misrepresented in a comical manner. As per Peter Bradshaw for the Guardian, it is ‘pure toxic nonsense’ due to unconvincing characters, implausible scenes, unearned and misjudged emotional climax.
All that You Should Know Before Watching- Cast and Plot
The storyline revolves around the lives of a married couple who face certain hardships in their relationship. The wife Lilly becomes obsessed with killing the starling who attacks her after Jack leaves to grieve for the loss of their child. Lilly seeks help from her friend and psychologist Larry, and they soon develop a good bonding and help each other to acknowledge, explore and confront their problems.
The film also explored the various shades of problems each character goes through and how they deal with them. Even though the makers have tried to make it as comical as possible, the film seems shallow on that front.
The cast of The Starling consists of some famous actors like Melissa McCarthy, who plays the role of Lilly, Chris O’ Dawd, who plays the role of Jack, Kevin Kline, who plays the role of DrLarry, Timothy Olyphant, who plays the role of Travis along with many others. The cast is one of the major reasons the movie seems bearable at times, as per mostly all he reviews.
When is it Releasing and Where to Watch?
The Starling had its worldwide premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2021, and will be released digitally on Netflix on September 17, 2021. The film will not have a theatrical release keeping in view the pandemic situation and can be streamed digitally on Netflix from September 7, 2021.
