Bird Box (2018)

Having read the book, I tuned in to Netflix's film Bird Box, directed by Susanne Bier and starring Sandra Bullock. To recap, there is some sort of creature that can not be seen, because those who look at them immediately go insane and commit suicide. A handful of survivors hole up in a house, trying to get along and increase their chance of survival.

Bullock is a pregnant woman who is not excited about having a baby. She, along with John Malkovich, as a horrible person, and Trevante Rhodes, as a very good person, occupy a house, the shades drawn. With blindfolds on, they go to other houses to steal food, and make a trip to the supermarket, the windows blacked out, relying on GPS.

Eventually another pregnant woman joins them. These scenes are all flashbacks, as the present time is Bullock rowing a boat down a river, with two children with her, also blindfolded, searching for a safe place they've been told about on a short-wave radio.

To enjoy Bird Box, you have to suspend disbelief. I read a review that panned it because the writer couldn't accept that someone could row straight down a river without seeing, or that you can drive a car safely to a destination using only GPS. Yes, that's highly unlikely. But films ask us to do this all the time. Can we clone dinosaurs from mosquitoes embedded in amber? Is there a man who wears a costume like a bat roaming the city? If a film is good enough on its own merits, we accept this and slip into the world. If it isn't, we start to question the logic. Bird Box is good enough to overlook the problems.

I've also read that Bird Box is some kind of commentary on post-partum depression, and while the two pregnant woman (who give birth at the same time) are certainly front and center in the drama, I didn't really get that interpretation. I think it's more about facing fears. One of the characters, who's up on his demonology, talks about demons from all over the world who represent our worst fears. Bullock's worst fear might be being a mother. But really Bird Box is just a pretty good scare.

Of course the creatures are never seen, as it must be left to our imagination. Nor does it say what they are or where they come from. Later we find out that those that are already insane can see them and not die. All of this would lead to a nice post-screening discussion.

I was skeptical that this would make a good movie. Yes, I still think people can't wear blindfolds without them slipping off, but if you buy into the story it makes for some nice suspense.