Lena Dunham considers herself a contemporary historian. As the creator of the HBO series Girls, her work has always been a bit ironic, but she has become the defining voice of millennials. But in her new film, “Catherine called Birdie’” she turns her attention to real history. It is a space where she can spend her time comfortably. “I would much rather stay home and read the bizarre medieval diary of a milkmaid found in a pile of rubble than go out to parties in Williamsburg,” said Dunham. on a recent phone call.
Adapted by Karen Cushman 1994 Newbery Prize-winning children’s novel“Birdy” tells the story of a rebellious 14-year-old medieval English girl (Bella Ramsey from “Game of Thrones”). Her father, Andrew Scott, wants to marry her to keep her family from falling into poverty. Birdie will do whatever she can to thwart her efforts while beginning her tenuous path to emotional maturity. It is a material that sounds very faithful to Dunham. In fact, she made “Birdy” the third part of a trilogy that began with her 2010 breakout feature, the semi-autobiographical “Tiny Furniture,” and followed on from “Sharp Stick,” a sexually explicit story spanning 26 years. I think it’s 3 parts. Old Virgin released earlier this year after debuting at the Sundance Film Festival.
“They’re all about different moments in coming-of-age stories,” she said. And I hope every piece gives you a sense of how exhilarating and terrifying it is, and how it kind of… cracks you open up.
Making “Birdy” has been a long-standing goal for 36-year-old Dunham, who first fell in love with the book as a child. (By her calculations, she has six of hers.) She first received rights from an author almost ten years before her. ““Girls” has just started and someone asked. “If you could make anything into a movie, what would it be?” I think that’s what I did.
The rights to the book, written in diary form, were previously selected. Cushman said in an interview that he hadn’t realized anything, so when Dunham sent him a letter about his love for the book, the author was quick to say yes.
Cushman, now 80, hadn’t seen “Girls” yet — she doesn’t have cable — but “small furniture, which she found “very depressing.” The novelist said, “She thought it would be great to do what she did in her youth. After ‘Tiny Furniture,’ she wished she had gotten a little better over the years.” was.”)
Dunham is the HBO financial dramaindustry’ and find inspiration on scouting trips to medieval landmarks. She was about to shoot the project in March 2020 when the pandemic halted production. did. In this work, the protected heroine has an affair with her married boss and falls into a spiral of sexual quest.
“‘Sharp Stick’ is my most complex, perhaps least commercial instinct, and ‘Birdy’ is trying to tell a populist story, but they both ask the same question,” she said. But having a “sharp stick” to explore her most provocative side allowed Dunham to “pull back” in a certain way when it comes to follow-ups. She may have wanted to delve deeper into the ugliness of medieval society in “Birdy” than she did in the end.
Before making ‘Birdy’, Dunham met her now-husband, British-Peruvian musician Luis Ferber, and spent more time in England. Upon entering the project, she was a self-professed “embarrassed British”, to the point that she wanted a Bronte-themed bachelorette party. It’s much harder to open than you think.”
Still, she was careful to set aside some of her romanticism for the purposes of a film that touched upon the horrors of British history, such as the Crusades. Helen Castor Deviating from the historical record she found appropriate while understanding the nuances of the times. Example: Scores sung by Carter Burwell a room full of teethevoking chorus music, and the soundtrack is filled with covers of Misty Miller pop songs “Alright” by Supergrass When “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star.
The 13th-century Dunham version she created with production designer Cave Quinn and costume designer Julian Day is filled with color and flowers. The goal was a costume that was both historically relevant and fun enough to catch the eye of a girl looking for her next Halloween costume.
That knack for understanding dominant femininity helped Dunham when it came to collaborating with 18-year-old Ramsey, who plays Birdy. “I think she understands what it’s all about,” Ramsey said of Dunham. did.”
“Catherine Called Birdy” is Dunham’s most family-friendly work, and by extension her most relatable. There are debates about menstruation and farting, but parents can be assured there will be no unprintable sex acts. For Scott, who plays Rollo, it’s how audiences see the parts of Dunham that could be hidden in her boundary-pushing material. he said. “I love the fact that that side of her is now recognized by people.”
Dunham knows that “Birdy” can still be compared to “Girls,” but he appreciates that it took about ten years to produce. Those years of life experience meant she could flesh out the world around the feisty teen at the heart of the film, whether it was Birdie’s mother’s multiple stillbirths or the heartbreak her best friend endured. “I am fortunate that this film, which I care so much about and which in many ways feels like the culmination of my life’s work thus far, can have the opportunity to stand on its own.” I hope we have a little space,” she said. She hopes that viewers will fall in love with this story, just like they did all those years ago.