Woodley reminds us that she's not just the hippie queen of YA adaptations, but a bracing actress who's not averse to taking some gutty risks.

This dreamy/nightmarish weirdie finds Araki reining in his anarchic excesses with rewarding results, as his satirical sensuality reaps the benefits of a heavily orchestrated deadpan formality.

Araki blends film noir-like elements with an engagingly offbeat, Adrian Mole-like look at adolescence.

With White Bird‘s central mystery mostly backgrounded, the unevenness of the main narrative thrust’s daily life segments weakens the impact considerably.