In 1989 Tokyo, Lucy Fly, an enigmatic expat haunted by a painful past, enters into an intense relationship with Teiji, a handsome yet similarly troubled local photographer. Lucy's imperturbable exterior begins to crack when a naive newcomer, Lily Bridges, becomes entangled in their lives and ends up missing - suspected dead.... (Full plot summary below)
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In 1989 Tokyo, Lucy Fly, an enigmatic expat haunted by a painful past, enters into an intense relationship with Teiji, a handsome yet similarly troubled local photographer. Lucy's imperturbable exterior begins to crack when a naive newcomer, Lily Bridges, becomes entangled in their lives and ends up missing - suspected dead.
Leave your thoughts about Earthquake Bird.
| PolygonKaren HanAll three leads are terrific — especially Vikander, whose Japanese is impressive — but they’re working with material that doesn’t measure up to their talents. |
| Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganEveryone here appears to be revelling in the juicy opportunities Earthquake Bird brings to hit up our memories of everything from Fatal Attraction to Single White Female. |
| Movie NationRoger MooreBut even if this film of a Susanna Jones novel makes a middling whodunit, it’s still a fine vehicle for Vikander, an actress of quiet reserve and inner fury. She and the exotic setting lift Earthquake Bird, even if it never fully takes flight. |
| VarietyPeter DebrugeWestmoreland approaches the project every bit as respectful toward Japanese customs as Jones was, although only a percentage of her insights carry over to the film. They’re still there, mind you, but more difficult to detect. |
| The GuardianPeter BradshawI was less taken with the wait-is-this-really-happening moments that tend to undermine the emotional currency in which the drama is presented to us. Some real tremors, though. |
| IndieWireDavid EhrlichWhile too muddled and morose to hold together as a psychosexual thriller, Wash Westmoreland’s Earthquake Bird can be compelling for how it both explores and subverts the idea that everyone gets a little bit lost in translation. |
| The New York TimesGlenn KennyFor all its consideration, while Earthquake Bird adds up to a “real” movie, it’s too polite to add up to an entirely compelling one. |
| Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleTry as he might, Westmoreland can’t muster the same portraiture skills with a woman of mystery and brokenness that he’s shown with bold, expressive types (“Still Alice,” “Colette”). |
| The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonThis solidly crafted Ridley Scott production is sprinkled with classy ingredients, including Alicia Vikander as headline star. But it is also a fairly flat treatment of over-familiar plot elements, and fatally low on the key psycho-thriller elements of suspense, surprise and dread. |
| IGNKristy PuchkoNetflix's Earthquake Bird is a not particularly engaging thriller featuring an inert performance from Alicia Vikander. |
