‘For the Birds’: When ‘love’ becomes obsession

Day Whatever in quarantine, and amid my daily chores I found time to see — and review — the documentary “For the Birds,” which I recorded for Spokane Public Radio :

Like pretty much everyone I know, I’ve been trying to find ways to deal with life as a shut-in. That includes cleaning parts of my house that I barely ever visit, washing every bit of clothing that I intend to keep while separating the others into two piles (throw-away and give-away), and – maybe most important – seeking a recipe for the perfect chocolate-chip cookie.

The cleaning is slow going, I’m not sure when (or if ) a time will come in which I can give away any clothing, and I’m going to keep searching for the cookie recipe that comes closest to satisfying my taste buds even if I gain 50 pounds trying – which just might happen.

The weight gain, I mean.

Anyway, in between all this, I’ve continued to watch movies and TV series online. And one film that I saw recently that impressed me was the 2018 documentary “For the Birds,” which I saw through Netflix.

Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Richard Miron , “For the Birds” began in 2011 as a student project. Miron was just looking to tell stories about people who love animals. When he heard about a complaint that had been made about a woman living in upstate New York, he went to see her. And he brought along a camera.

That led to him, and later his editor Jeffrey Star , getting to know Kathy Murphy and her husband Gary. Spending time with them, Miron and Star earned the couple’s trust – and they maintained that sense of trust throughout what subsequently happened.

Which was this: The complaint involved the 100-odd birds that Kathy kept on her and Gary’s rural property. As Miron shows us, Kathy loved her birds – the chickens, ducks and turkeys – with a passion that had, over the years, evolved into obsession. And while in the film she claims that her animals are healthy, it’s clear that some – maybe many – of them are not.

So first the local animal sanctuary gets involved, which ends up angering Kathy when they fail to return her beloved turkeys. Then comes the SPCA, which impounds all the rest of the animals, leading to Kathy being brought up on criminal charges involving animal endangerment.

Meanwhile, Kathy and Gary’s marriage frays, with Gary bemoaning the mess that his home has become and Kathy proclaiming that nothing means more to her than her animals – including Gary.

Throughout it all, Miron’s camera is there, including when Kathy ends up in court, represented by a self-styled “country lawyer” who’s as much of a character as anyone else in the film.

As “For the Birds” unfolded – a title that clearly has multiple meanings – I was struck by the tone that Miron takes. He points a finger at no one, leaving us to see that everyone involved acts in ways that they feel are best – for themselves as well as the animals.

In addition, I realized that the tension I was feeling was as much because of how I’ve been trained to see such stories as anything Miron does in narrating what goes on. The fact is, what’s portrayed in most television shows, or movies, even what tends to lead the 11 o’clock news or is splashed across the tops of daily newspapers, involves stories that invariably end in violence .

We’re led, then, to believe that people who feel mired in desperate situations will act out. Yet let’s be honest: Most of us, no matter how desperate we might feel, tend act in ways that are, ultimately, compassionate. And peaceful.

While “For the Birds” doesn’t end happily for everyone, it does end positively – and without anyone having snapped in a bad way. Ultimately, Miron gives us a resolutely human story, one that is the antithesis of the mass of popular entertainment and headline news. At the same time, it serves as an antidote to the cynicism that both tend to rouse in those of us who deign to watch.

Which, given everything else that’s going on in the world right now, feels like a better gift than the most perfect cookie recipe anyone ever dreamed of.