Catherine Called Birdy Review: Dunham’s Medieval Comedy Is Fun But Thin

Lena Dunham, best known for her work on HBO’s Girls, has made a career out of writing comedies and women characters who live in their own bubbles. While still comedic, Catherine Called Birdy, Dunham’s fourth directorial feature and her second one this year following Sharp Stick, goes in a different, more light-hearted direction that is suitable for all ages, avoiding Dunham’s R-rated humor for a more watered down version of feminist themes.

Based on the 1994 novel by Karen Cushman, the film follows Lady Catherine (Bella Ramsey), or “Birdy” as she’s known by family and friends, in her endeavors to remain unmarried. The 14-year-old lives a relatively charmed life — for whatever charmed is in medieval times. Mother Lady Aislinn’s (Billie Piper) title gives Birdy privileges others don’t have, as well as wealth. The latter, however, becomes an issue after her father Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott) spends most of the family’s wealth buying things (like tigers) just because he can. His solution is to marry Birdy off to any man in the vicinity with the money to secure his family’s future. Naturally, Birdy is loudly opposed to this, and the rebellious, free-spirited teen must find her way out of this arrangement at all costs.

Catherine Called Birdy is very much grounded in its superficial girl power themes, its feminism limited to the idea that Birdy should get to choose whomever she marries. It’s a basic premise, but it’s one that works because its focus is on a teenage girl living in medieval times. Dunham, who also wrote the script, employs deprecating humor and silly hijinks to avoid one from thinking too long about the fact that a 14-year-old could ever be married to someone older than her own father. It’s this element that works in the film’s favor, and its surface-level reading of Birdy is excusable when considering the film is likely aimed at a younger audience.

Birdy gets to be annoying and frustrating, self-involved, and selfish. She’s a teenager who is trying to find herself and her rebellious streak is warranted. The film’s comedy works for the most part, especially at the beginning as Birdy, who narrates her own story, introduces all the people in her life (and exactly how she feels about each one). Catherine Called Birdy does, however, begin to trail off in the middle, getting a bit lost in the repetition of Birdy ruining dinners and meetings with her suitors. Dunham brings everything together in the end, though the film could have spent more time developing Birdy’s relationship with her mother and brothers, in particular. This is where Birdy’s self-involvement becomes a hindrance to the narrative, but Bella Ramsey’s performance is so charming and fun that one can’t resist liking Birdy regardless. The supporting cast, including Joe Alwyn as Birdy’s uncle George and Isis Hainsworth as her best friend Aelis, is also good despite having less to work with.

The film’s overall message is sweet. Birdy is so angry, frustrated, and miserable that she often doesn’t notice other people’s feelings. She would like them to be just as fed up with everything as she is, but she starts to realize that they might not share the same sentiments — and that’s okay. Birdy realizes that her own misery doesn’t have to be shared by others if they manage to find happiness of their own. So while the film loses its way and stumbles in the second act, the ending pulls everything together quite neatly. Bolstered by a headstrong performance from Ramsey (who is best known as Lyanna Mormont from Game of Thrones), alongside a fantastic supporting cast, Catherine Called Birdy will be best enjoyed by a younger audience, though it’s still fun enough for viewers of all ages.

Catherine Called Birdy premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2022. The film releases in limited theaters September 23 and on Prime Video October 7. It is 108 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for some suggestive material and thematic elements.