Songbird – Dull Sci-Fi That Feels A Little Too Real (Early Review)

The announcement of Songbird was greeted by a fair share of controversy and rightfully so. One of the first films scripted and filmed during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the film certainly played into that by creating an alternate pandemic-afflicted world that came off as tone deaf considering that the world is still in the grip of a pandemic (calling its virus COVID-23 did not help its case). Nevertheless. here we are. Though this will surely be a contentious point for some but that is merely window dressing for what is essentially a dull and derivative sci-fi B-movie which is a worse offense. While the film will appeal to some conspiracy theorists, those controversial aspects fade away rather quickly. Suffice it to say that the fact that it is being released when it is is not a coincidence and that controversy definitely created some free publicity for the film (it was originally scheduled for release next year).

That being said, as it was filmed during the current pandemic, there was only so much that can be done considering the understandable limitations created by the pandemic. Despite those limitations, Songbird found a way to use it to its advantage. Though the timing may be off, there was some potential within its premise but with a running time clocking in at an astronomically short 85 minutes, the film is over before it starts. Taking place in the distant future of 2024 Los Angeles, the story follows groups of survivors as they navigate and cope with their new normal. However, it didn’t quite end up that way. Instead, the film was a dull and convoluted mashup of incredibly thin characters and subplots that didn’t matter at all with a love story between an immune delivery boy named Nico (Apa) and a young woman named Sara (Carson) inching ahead. The biggest difference between both characters was that Nico’s immunity to the virus allowed him free reign of the city while Sara was confined to her apartment with her grandmother as were any who weren’t immune.

Though the rules of the film world and their impact on the film’s characters didn’t particularly matter in the grand scheme of things (which was a shame), their authoritarian nature may hit close to home for some. They only served to keep Nico and Sara apart so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone that Songbird was about Nico and Sara finding a way to finally get together. This would of course be easier said than done as viewers watched Nico frantically navigating the underbelly of pandemic-ridden Los Angeles for a potential solution while encountering plenty of dull and predictable obstacles along the way. Meanwhile, there was something about seeing a near-empty city but the film failed to tap into that enough (though maybe that was due to budgetary constraints). At the end of the day, the predictable and derivative nature of the story did not illicit much in the way of excitement. It’s just a mindless exercise. At least it didn’t insult our intelligence.

Ultimately, what kept Songbird watchable was its performances in spite of the characters not being all that deep to begin with. Most will likely gravitate towards Apa as the lead and to his credit, he delivered a solid performance in his own right as Nico. However, that was almost by default as he had the most to do here which albeit wasn’t that much. In terms of the other performances, Carson, Moore, and the rest of the cast were just there. While they were not bad per se, it was merely due to their characters being thin and forgettable.

Overall, Songbird should not be knocked because it’s a COVID film, it’s just a mediocre sci-fi film.           

*still courtesy of Elevation Pictures*

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.