Living a rough street life and growing up with parents who behave like frantic teenagers, twelve-year-old Bailey knows only chaos. One day, her father, Bug, comes home with a toad, whose hallucinogenic venom will fetch just enough money on the black market to fund his wedding to his girlfriend. Bailey rebels against this plan. When she isn’t running off with her brother Hunter and his gang, she visits her mom’s family. Yearning for attention and adventure, Bailey meets Bird, a stranger who shows her that life can change for the better. 

A vigorous and edgy story, reminiscent of The Catcher in the Rye, set in Nowhere, England. British director Arnold has spent her 30-year career consistently exploring social and anthropological themes, whether it’s the arrival of a stepfather in Fish Tank (2009), a journey of lost souls in American Honey (2016), or the life of a dairy cow in Cow (2021). Her latest feature introduces a touch of magical realism. This drama, about a young girl’s search for identity and featured in Cannes’ Main Competition, draws its disarming power from its ensemble cast: the joyful debutante Nykiya Adams, the charmers Franz Rogowski (The Great Freedom (2021)) and Barry Keoghan (Saltburn (2023)).