Fame is a recurring theme in Bird of Paradise, a dramatic thriller from writer/director Reza Amidi that focuses on an aspiring actress’ rise to stardom and a mystery surrounding another actress’ disappearance. Reza’s film is also a psychological thriller reminiscent of Christopher Nolan’s early movies like Memento and Insomnia, with a hint of American Psycho, due to the protagonist’s contemplation with mental health.
The plot focuses on Kat (Neda Davarpanah), a young Iranian-American actress who lives in an elegant home in L.A. and takes part-time work in acting gigs. Kat lives a very private life and prefers to keep her personal and professional career separate. One evening during a party, she encounters Dominic Dunaway (Jeffrey Thomas Johnson), a talent representative who claims to help build careers for up-and-coming actors. He offers Kat a role in a major studio film that he believes is perfect for her. Kat is initially hesitant, but she accepts the biggest role of her career in the studio feature called Bird of Paradise.
While Kat embraces this boost in her career and celebrates with her boyfriend Craig (Clayton Louis), she is then approached the following day by a detective named Correa (Todd Carroll). He talks to Kat about a missing actress named Sasha (McKensie Lane), another up-and-coming actress who was given the same role as Kat for Bird of Paradise, but had vanished under mysterious circumstances. Kat’s paranoia and anxiety build up to a severe point causing the line between reality and dream blurred. Kat becomes more obsessed with finding answers regarding Sasha’s disappearance.
Bird of Paradise is a well-directed feature that has dramatic, unsettling, and appealing tones because it tackles multiple subjects: a mystery thriller, an up-and-comer seeking fame, the movie industry and various roles involved (actors, producers, talent agents, photographers, etc.), and a lead character dealing with her own mental dilemmas. As Kat, Davarpanah delivers a nuanced performance as a multifaceted young woman who’s visibly shy and reserved around people, but also ambitious in trying to elevate her acting career. She is also convincing when exhibiting Kat’s troubles with insomnia, her obsession to solve Sasha’s disappearance, and her fearful persona when trying to distinguish reality from the disturbing thoughts on her mind.
The supporting cast, including Johnson’s role as Dominic and Brian Ronan Mulroy as comedian Bobby Garrison, are effective in portraying colorful characters with outgoing personalities who are very shady when it comes to their own personal intentions in the movie business. The plot of the film also emphasizes the power of social media and how it can be a useful tool for fame, but also dangerous for a person’s private life. Similar to several crime thrillers, the movie has a suspensefully eerie score (Daniele Carretta), and the feature skillfully keeps viewers guessing about Sasha’s disappearance throughout. Kat is forced to make challenging decisions between solving a mysterious case and coming to terms with her own sanity and career.
