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Little Birds is based on the collection of infamous erotic short stories by Anaïs Nin, but even though they’re short stories, each episode still lasts an hour including adverts.
Juno Temple (Horns, Away) is American debutante Lucy Savage, supposedly all young and innocent in 1955, given drugs to proper her up, whilst lowering her libido, before being given a number of presents for her birthday including a gun and bullets.
However, we’re supposed to buy into this 1950s-style world where sex is taboo and no-one’s ever heard of anything naughty ever happening between the sheets. In 2020, it all sounds somewhere between tame and OTT and ridiculous, and the soft nature of the drama gives way to silly camera angles, while a dominatrix bosses around a man with a gas mask on his head, before urinating on him.
And before I realised what had happened, Lucy had got married to Lord Hugo Cavendish-Smythe (Hugh Skinner, The Windsors), even though the actors have no chemistry whatsoever.
The only surprise, as such, is that there was once a 2011 film called Little Birds, starring Juno Temple. It’s entirely unrelated, though.
Overall, this Little Birds is one of the most tedious ‘dramas’ I’ve ever clapped eyes on, and about as sexy as receiving bills through the post.
Little Birds begins on Sky Atlantic tonight at 9pm, with all episodes available on demand at the same time. The series is available to pre-order on DVD, ahead of its release on September 14th.
You can also buy the Anais Nin book, and also the 2011 movie of the same name on Region 1 DVD, so make sure your player can play such discs, since if you’re in the UK, you can usually only play Region 2 DVDs.
Check out the trailer below:
Episodes 1 Score: 0/10
Director: Stacie Passon
Producers: Peter Carlton, Ruth McCance
Screenplay: Sophia Al-Maria
Music: Anne Nikitin
Cast:
Lucy Savage: Juno Temple
Hugo Cavendish-Smythe: Hugh Skinner
Cherifa Lamour: Yumna Marwan
Secretary Pierre Vaney: Jean-Marc Barr
Lili von X: Nina Sosanya
Mama Zorba: Mia Soteriou
Hamid: Tamara Vera
Gigi: Malia Conde
Omar: Marius Makon
Leo: Kamel Labroudi
Adham Abaza: Raphael Acloque
Aziz: Fady Elsayed
Vanessa Savage: Amy Landecker
Grant Savage: David Costabile
Gladys Savage: Linda Thorson
Bill: Matt Lauria
Contessa Mandrax: Rossy de Palmaerts
Frederic: Alexander Albrecht
Chief Steward: Edward Anderson
Female Honeymooner: Kuran Dohil
Male Honeymooner: Danny Ashok
Parisian Attendee: John Alan Rob
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.