Written by its lead Samantha Smart and directed and edited by Libby Ewing, CHARLIEBIRD is a highly affecting indie drama set in Texas depicting the friendship between Al, a music therapist at a children’s hospital, and Charlie (Gabriela Ochoa Perez), a 17-year-old patient.
Al tries to deal with past trauma by helping her patients, but it’s a daily struggle that does not seem to ease. Charlie is stubborn and angry because of the hand she has been dealt when she just wants to be a normal teenager.
Luca Del Puppo’s cinematography is crisp and striking, however my one gripe with the film is that I found the super narrow aspect ratio distracting. It clearly serves a purpose, but 4:3 would have sufficed.
Thanks in large part to Smart and Perez’s believable performances, Charliebird manages to get under your skin and leaves you an emotional mess by its end.
