"Little Wing," a recent adaptation of Susan Orlean's journalism, is unfortunately disappointing despite its promising origins. The film's script by John Gatins, the writer behind "Flight," is quite adequate but the overwhelming, disjointed direction by Dean Israelite takes away its charm.
"Little Wing" is set in Portland, Oregon and revolves around a 13-year-old girl named Kaitlyn, who blames her deviant behavior on her parents' recent divorce. Living with her detective mother and her withdrawn brother, Kaitlyn ends up involved in a pigeon theft with her best friend to sell the bird to a pigeon mafia.
Despite having an interesting metaphor about pigeons and home, the movie fails to develop its characters fully, leaving them rather bland. Maddie is a detective in a city known for police violence, yet this context isn't addressed. Adam, a Black kid, agreeing to partake in a crime with Kaitlyn is not convincingly portrayed either.
Israelite's direction is the major downfall of the film. The director's jumbled approach, involving cartoonish techniques suitable for children's films, proves unsuitable for this story. Unnecessary flashy techniques used throughout the film, overdramatic scores by Anne Nikitin, and poor cinematography by Jeff Cutter overshadow the performances of the cast.
One particular disappointing aspect is how the film handles its pigeons, which are not given enough close-ups or appreciation for their natural beauty. In the final pigeon race scene, thousands of implausible CGI birds overpower the scene.
In a nutshell, "Little Wing" falls short in adapting Susan Orlean's work cogently and engagingly. Both the talent involved and the audience deserved a more carefully crafted narrative and a more competent direction.
