The Smashing Bird I Used to Know

Nine-year-old Nicki Johnson Madeleine Hinde visits a funfair with her parents, and on a merry-go-round her father, Richard Johnson David Lodge, reaches over to comfort her and is crushed to death by the machinery. The tragedy leaves Nicki profoundly traumatised, and she overhears comments that place the blame on her, weaving a permanent sense of guilt into her memory that lingers as she grows up.

Seven years later, Nicki is a troubled teenager living with her widowed mother, Anne Johnson Renée Asherson. Anne has withdrawn emotionally and cycles through younger lovers, most notably her latest boyfriend Harry Spenton Patrick Mower, a sleazy con-artist who makes a living by latching onto wealthy older women and fleecing them before moving on. Nicki spends most of her time away from school, often truantly, and she gravitates toward her boyfriend Peter Dennis Waterman instead.

Returning home one day from a riding lesson, Nicki finds herself alone in the house with Harry. He tries to seduce her, and when she proves resistant, he taunts her by claiming that her trust fund is now in his control. A struggle ensues, during which Nicki stabs him several times, leaving him seriously injured. For her trouble, she is sent to a remand home for young women with emotional and behavioural problems.

Inside the remand home, Nicki is overwhelmed by the new world around her—an environment where bullying and violence are the norm. She tries to keep a low profile to avoid being victimised, but her situation changes when she strikes up an unlikely friendship with Sarah Maureen Lipman, one of the toughest girls on the block. Despite Sarah’s fearsome reputation, she becomes Nicki’s unofficial protector, and as their bond grows, Sarah reveals a more vulnerable side. Their connection hints at feelings that go beyond simple friendship, and a tentative intimacy begins to emerge between them.

Facing the reality of life inside the remand home, Nicki and Sarah decide to abscond rather than risk a future in borstal. Sarah is soon apprehended, while Nicki manages to slip away and makes it to Peter’s flat in the village, where he works as an interior designer. The sensible Peter urges her to see that returning to the remand home is the better long-term option, arguing that facing her problems is the only real path forward. Nicki, initially reluctant, comes to see his point, and agrees to go back. As they drive toward the remand home, they reach a bridge with a bottleneck passage, and an approaching truck forces them off the road and over the bridge—ending in their deaths.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:22