The Birds Writeup

Brandon Ong 9/15/14

Mr. Waddell B Block

A Response to The Birds

Corny, annoying, and unsatisfying are the three words which describe The Birds. While the technology at the time of the creation of the movie may not have been at such a level as to bring more realisticness to this movie, such as that of the birds, a major aspect of the movie as the name would suggests, even some of the acting or scenes reeked of corniness. For instance, in the scene where the man pumping gas was attacked by a bird, causing him to fall over and thus triggering a chain of events which would lead to absolute chaos, one should feel absolute shock and panic at such a dangerous situation as the scene depicts. Yet, due to hard to believe idea that a man could be knocked unconscious by a bird, as well as the unrealistic bird attacking the man, who then fell awkwardly, the scene instead, took on a comedic stance, rather than the intended serious one. And then there was the ending. It is one thing to have a cliffhanger, but The Birds’ ending is in no way a cliffhanger. After building the plot for nearly two hours, the movie ended abruptly and inconclusively. There isn’t even enough evidence for one to form their own theories as to why a mass of birds suddenly became hostile. All in all, the ending was disappointing and made one feel like they’ve wasted their time. Despite all of these negatives however, the one thing about this movie which was admirable was the acting. From Tippi Hedren to Rod Taylor, the acting was superb. Jessica Tandy was perfectly casted to play the role as Lydia Brenner, Mitch Brenner’s mother. Her eyes and the glare that she gives added an eery element to the plotline, as one may speculate that the birds were somehow her doing. In regards to the plot, an interesting aspect of the storyline is that of the lovebirds and Melanie Daniels and Mitch Brenner. Somehow, the two are connected and are a driving force in the storyline. While mysterious and unknown, the correlation is most likely to be the answer to why the birds have become hostile.