Bird People

The title for Pascale Ferran's drama refers to those who spend much of their time in business flights from one location to the next. One member of this flock is Gary Newman (Josh Charles), a Silicon Valley engineer who arrives at an airport hotel near Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport for a business meeting before heading off the next day on a flight to Dubai. Except when the next day rolls around, Gary changes his routine drastically: staying in his hotel room, sending word to his employer that he is quitting, and ending his marriage via a video conference. Elsewhere in the hotel, Audrey (Anaïs Demoustier), a somewhat mousy young woman who works as a chambermaid, has her own domestic problems, namely a nagging father whose phone calls become increasingly unpleasant. Gary and Audrey's lives intersect during a series of oddball twists and turns that often seem to be a little too convenient. But this is easily offset by the solid performances by the two leads: Charles wisely avoids making Gary too sympathetic, while Demoustier brings out the eccentricity of Audrey's behavior without becoming too fey. Recommended. (P. Hall)