Birdy (1984)

Tri-Star Pictures
Directed by Alan Parker
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

Teenage friends Nicolas Cage and Matthew Modine find themselves in the psycho ward after harrowing experiences in Vietnam. Modine has retreated from the world by indulging in his fascination with birds. Cage desperately seeks to reach him by recalling experiences from their past in suburban Philadelphia. They fix up a car, go to the prom and other normal teenage activities. However, it becomes apparent that Modine is already sliding into mental illness before the war, his life entirely taken over by birds. Wildly uneven, it veers from saccharine scenes of boyhood games set to "La Bamba", to brutal war scenes in Vietnam and uncomfortable nude scenes of Modine and his birds. Cage is over the top as usual, but is complemented by Modine's reserved performance.