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Little Birds: Sundance Review

2:21 PM PST 1/26/2011 by John DeFore

Juno Temple and Kay Panabaker star in the largely quiet and personal film.

PARK CITY — Sundance Film Festival, U.S. Dramatic Competition — Two girls on the cusp of womanhood have their friendship tested in Little Birds, an assured debut set in the toxic surroundings of the Salton Sea. Attuned to the yearnings of middle-of-nowhere teenage-dom, it includes just enough danger to sustain dramatic momentum, giving it a chance with audiences outside the arthouse ghetto. Warm reception on the fest circuit is assured, especially given writer/director Elgin James' backstory as a gang member-turned-pacifist filmmaker.

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