Adapting from Karen Cushman’s beloved children’s novel, Director Lena Dunham has revived everyone’s notalgia by bringing Catherine Called Birdy to screen. A comedy, set in Medieval times, Catherine Called Birdy narrates the rebellions of young lady Catherine, played by Bella Ramsay, whose parents are hell bent on marrying her to the first available wealthy suitor, even if he’s 50 years old. With her father Lord Rollo’s (Andrew Scott) expensive lifestyle, their empty coffers and massive estate falling apart, Catherine’s marriage seems like their only hope. Hilarious misadventures unleash when Catherine’s spitfire personality is determined to foil all her parents’ ambitious plans.
The film opened to positive responses from critics in the Toronto International Film Festival, who loved the medieval take on modern concepts of feminism. Bella Ramsay and Lena Dunham both shared their thoughts on the film and their characters. “It was so wonderfully chaotic,” says Bella Ramsay, adding, “I love the weirdness and boldness and quirkiness that Birdy embodies. When I was a kid I didn’t really have any limits in terms of who I was and what I could be and what I could do. As you grow up, you learn the rules of the world, well, quote unquote rules, and that can change you and make you feel certain ways. This movie was a good reminder for me that it’s OK for you to not fit into the mold.”
Director Lena Dunham also revealed her reasons to pick Catherine’s story for the screen. She says, “I wanted to highlight this girl who was living in the wrong time. If she was living in 2022, she would be a pretty classic tomboy or able to explore the gender binary, she’d be able to play all the sports she wanted. All of her dreams, which in 1290 are to run around without a skirt on, would be achievable,” Dunham says. “But there are still as we know, huge challenges to being a woman in this day and age, and a teenage girl.”
With names like Andrew Scott, Joe Alwyn, Bella Ramsay and Billie Piper in the mix, Catherine Called Birdy is produced by Eric Fellner, Jo Wallett, Tim Bevan, and distributed by Amazon Studios. It will be available exclusively for Prime Video members starting October 7, across 240 countries and territories worldwide.
