Melissa McCarthy is no stranger to drama. The Oscar-nominated actress not only scored a nod for her humorous work in Bridesmaids in 2012 but also for her revolutionary dramatic work in 2019’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? She is perfectly cast in Netflix’s The Starling, which reunites her with a fellow Bridesmaids alum in Chris O’Dowd.
They’re a couple who have had some issues—putting it mildly. Viewers keenly are aware of the fact that McCarthy’s Lilly Maynard and O’Dowd’s Jack Maynard lost their baby girl—a single action that has struck a contentious lightning bolt between them collectively, but also individually, illustrated by two thespians more than up for the challenge of portraying a couple whose relationship is circling the drain.
Making matters worse, Jack is in a mental hospital and has been for months. Meanwhile, Lilly is alone in a house that used to be filled with laughter and the soundtrack of a newborn. Now it’s figuratively haunted by a dead child and a husband who didn’t see life worth living anymore.
Yet one day she digs deep and finds the courage to tackle the mess that is the weed-covered mess that is the couple’s large garden. The only thing, an overprotective Starling has other ideas. Their first meeting as she clears garden trash and shrubbery ends with Lilly needing stitches to the head. From whom is a fascinating turn of events for The Starling.
The clinician leading her husband’s care recommends Dr. Larry Fine (Kevin Kline) as someone who she thinks would be perfect for Lilly to speak to about issues she’s going through with the loss of her daughter and for all intent and purposes… loss of her husband. She’s all alone in this rural house that is filled with nothing but memories after she got rid of all their furniture and replaced it with a single pleather Lazy-Boy. Turns out, Dr. Fine is a Vet now but used to be a therapist. That’s kind of handy, given that Lilly has some mental issues that are weighing her down, and a bit of an animal pest on her hands as well!
Kline is divine. He is one underused actor who once used to be everywhere. The way he plays the duality of his part—vet, and therapist—is a fascinating series of choices by a veteran actor who keenly knows where his role fits into the wheel of The Starling. He and McCarthy are fantastic together with each’s comic timing as razor-sharp as can be. In fact, I wish that Kline had more screen time in the film. He may be its MVP.
McCarthy shows some range, especially in the scenes where she’s alone in the house or battling that batty bird. The thing is, sometimes she experiences some pratfall’s, and one wonders if you are supposed to laugh or just do laugh because she’s a natural comedienne. Witnessing her in a football helmet gardening, just waiting to be attacked by the bird… now that’s hilarious. It’s sad that it’s come to this for a woman who has gone through so much, but the thing is this bird will hold the key to not only her healing but her husband’s as well.
O’Dowd is his usual awesome and charming self. The role he has to play may be the toughest in the ensemble. This is a man so destroyed by the death of a child that he tries to take his own life, a move that his wife sees as incredibly selfish. The actor does his best with the material he is given to bring the emotive power to the role, and thus to the motion picture as a whole. His scenes in the mental institution are downright sad and that’s OK. In the hands of the comedic actor, it works as his self-deprecation is exactly what is called for in these scenes and nobody can handle self-deprecation like O’Dowd.
When he and McCarthy share scenes together, one can sense the tension and pent-up anger and guilt that riddles them both. Neither has to say much for us to gather what is going on here. Whether they make it is always up in the air. Heck, whether Lilly will ever triumph over this incredibly aggressive Starling is also a question. Losing a child is unimaginable and as handled in The Starling, it goes from something that is alluded to and becomes something that is all-encompassing.
Director Theodore Melfi handles the material with a hand that is uniquely his. The man who gave us St. Vincent and Hidden Figures keenly knows where to weave the emotion, humor, and character development. It’s just The Starling never quite manages to hit you over the head with its potential power. It’s a nice story, told kindly… but for anyone expecting an emotive H-bomb, this isn’t your movie. It visits the arena, but never quite fully goes in.
Grade: B