Songbird mimics real-world events with an uninventive dystopian twist.
KJ Apa stars as Nico in Songbird. CREDIT: STX Films
This post for Songbird is spoiler-free.
As one of the first major feature films to be produced, filmed and edited during the COVID-19 pandemic, Songbird (2020, directed by Adam Mason) is set in 2023, where the world is in full pandemic mode and quarantine camps are in existence; “munies” (people who are immune to the virus aka COVID-23) like Nico (KJ Apa) are the only people who get to roam the streets in the new normal.
Donning a disheveled look and facial hair, Apa’s Nico used to be a paralegal pre-pandemic, but he now works as a bike messenger who delivers parcels across the city of Los Angeles. His girlfriend, Sara (Sofia Carson), is not a “munie” and lives with her grandmother. Nico and Sara keeps up with their relationship the new normal way— hours of FaceTiming and interacting with one another through a physical Chinese wall.
Other actors such as Demi Moore, Bradley Whitford and Alexandra Daddario star in this Michael Bay produced movie, but it’s a pity that only Moore and Whitford have a semi-well-developed character backstory, as their characters’ motivations are what anchors most of the movie’s progression.
The movie’s ending is anticlimactic with nothing exciting to anticipate. There is nothing refreshing about Songbird, as most of its depiction of a pandemic is replicated from real-world events. Songbird is certainly an average piece of entertainment and at least Apa’s almost butt naked shower scene makes it worthwhile.
Rating: 2/5
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