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Hummingbird

Hummingbird 2013

Directed by

Steven Knight

Steven Knight

Made by

Lionsgate

Lionsgate

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Hummingbird Plot Summary

Read the complete plot summary and ending explained for Hummingbird (2013). From turning points to emotional moments, uncover what really happened and why it matters.


Joey Jason Statham is an ex-Special Forces veteran who vanished from his unit in Afghanistan and now drifts through London as a homeless, hard-drinking figure. While fleeing a group of thugs, he accidentally breaks into an apartment and discovers the owner has been away for months. Rather than run, he begins to inhabit Damon’s life, adopting the alias Joey Jones, and sets out to find Isabel, the person he was torn from in the streets. A stray credit card found in the mailbox sparks a subtle transformation, helping him start to improve his circumstances while concealing his wartime past.

Joey forges a fragile bond with Cristina, Agata Buzek, a kind-hearted nun who runs a soup kitchen. She becomes a practical ally, lending him medicine and passing on messages to Isabel. His prowess in a scramble of street-level violence earns him a place in the underworld when he demonstrates his fighting skills to the owner of a Chinese restaurant, and is soon hired by Mr. Choy, Benedict Wong, as a driver and enforcer. The money he salvages from these dangerous gigs becomes a tool for small acts of charity: he orders pizzas for the soup kitchen, buys necessities for Cristina, and earns the street’s nickname, “Crazy Joe.” He also starts sending money to Dawn, Vicky McClure, his ex, while letting neighbors believe he’s Damon’s boyfriend, a fragile mask for his ongoing vigil.

A tentative home life grows from these ties, and Joey’s circle tightens around Cristina as they share meals and plans. He invites Cristina to a street barbecue by the Chinese restaurant, a moment that becomes heavy when she reveals a police photo of Isabel, which fills him with anger. Yet Cristina’s steady presence calms him and gently nudges him toward a more honest life. In a moment of determination, Joey locates the men who once chased him away from Isabel and subjects them to a brutal interrogation, pressing for the truth about Isabel’s murder. The pursuit leads him to an art gallery appearance with Cristina, where he claims to have information about Isabel’s killer, and their relationship deepens, fueled by shared secrets and a risky trust.

Cristina offers a window into her past, and a ballet ticket on October 1st becomes a symbol of a possible future. As police begin to question Cristina about her own past and connections to Joey, they grow closer, trading life stories in quiet, candid moments. She discloses that she was raped by her gymnastics instructor in Warsaw and killed him in a moment of survival, a confession that reshapes Joey’s understanding of her. Given the strain, she asks to be reassigned to a new mission and appeals to the Mother Superior, Ger Ryan, for a transfer to Sierra Leone. Meanwhile, Joey’s relentless search for Isabel’s killer continues, and he makes a grim exchange of services with the boss of Mr. Choy’s operation, ultimately gaining control of a truck loaded with boxes described as refugees or slaves—an ethical line he hoped never to cross.

Across from the escalating danger, Isabel’s killer, Max Forrester, Christian Brassington, is shown brutalizing a sex worker, a detail that sharpens Joey’s resolve. A neighbor intercepts a rooftop invitation to a cocktail party that Max is connected to, and that invitation finds its way to Joey, drawing him toward a fateful encounter on October 1st—the same date associated with Damon’s return. When Joey finally re-enters Cristina’s life on that day, he asks her to take photographs of him for his daughter, hinting at a possible change in his path. Cristina, who plans to leave for Africa, hopes to be with him before departure.

Damon’s return proves to be a turning point, and the two lovers attempt an escape through the back of the building. Cristina is invited to the ballet, but Joey is torn between embracing a future with her and avenging Isabel. He delivers the photographs and a bag of cash to his ex-wife and daughter, hoping to secure some sense of closure and family. Cristina waits for him, but Joey chooses the intoxicating pull of revenge at the rooftop party, and Max Forrester becomes the target of a fatal fall. Cristina leaves the ballet, finding Joey asleep and broken on the curb, a stark portrait of a man who cannot fully escape his past.

The morning after, Cristina prepares to leave for Africa and receives a letter from Joey, a final message that he has settled scores and paid his debts, only to walk the streets once more as the noose of the law tightens around him. As the city wakes, the police close in, leaving a man who has traded a life for a ledger of broken promises, and a woman who must decide whether to stay and face an uncertain future or pursue a new beginning far from the shadows of their shared history.

Hummingbird Timeline

Follow the complete movie timeline of Hummingbird (2013) with every major event in chronological order. Great for understanding complex plots and story progression.


Joey breaks into Damon's apartment and assumes his life

An AWOL ex-SF veteran breaks into the owner's apartment while thugs pursue him. He adopts Damon's identity and begins living the life left behind. He starts searching for Isabel, establishing a new persona as his cover.

London apartment

Joey starts searching for Isabel and finds a credit card

Joey begins searching for Isabel using Damon's identity. He discovers a credit card in the mailbox, which becomes a tool to improve his situation. The discovery marks the start of a more deliberate self-improvement arc.

London

Joey befriends Cristina at the soup kitchen

He meets Cristina, a nun who runs the soup kitchen, and she helps him with medicine and messages to Isabel. She recognizes his potential and becomes his anchor in the city. Their unlikely friendship sets up a path toward honesty.

Soup kitchen

Joey demonstrates his fighting and is hired by Mr. Choy

He demonstrates his combat skills to the owner of a Chinese restaurant, catching the eye of Mr. Choy. Choy hires him as a driver/thug to collect extortion payments and deliver drugs. This marks a descent back into criminal activity despite his best intentions.

Chinese restaurant / Mr. Choy's operation

Joey does charitable acts and earns the nickname Crazy Joe

From his work, he saves money and uses it to help the soup kitchen, ordering pizzas and buying things for Cristina. The homeless begin to call him Crazy Joe as his reputation shifts from threat to guardian. These acts seed a new identity beyond Damon.

London streets / soup kitchen

Joey reconnects with his ex Dawn and reveals a new identity

He finds Dawn, his ex, and starts giving her money. He tells the neighbors that he is Damon’s boyfriend, further cementing his constructed life. The lie helps him blend into the community while he pursues Isabel.

Neighborhood / London

Barbecue, Isabel photo, and the call to honesty

Joey invites Cristina to a street barbecue behind the Chinese restaurant, where she shows a police photo of Isabel's death. He is enraged by the revelation, but Cristina calms him and urges him toward an honest life. This moment tests his resolve to abandon vengeance.

Barbecue behind restaurant

Joey interrogates the men who chased Isabel

He finds the men responsible for chasing Isabel and beats them, interrogating them about Isabel’s murder. The confrontation tightens the stakes of his quest and reveals the danger surrounding his past. His vigilante pursuit grows more personal.

London street / alley

Joey meets Cristina at an art gallery and a romance begins

They meet at an art gallery where Joey shares information about Isabel’s killer. The interaction becomes intimate as Cristina grows more involved, and their relationship deepens despite the peril around them. On October 1, the ballet deadline looms as a test of their bond.

Art gallery

Cristina reveals the October 1 ballet deadline

Cristina tells Joey she has a ballet ticket for October 1, the date Damon is due to return. Their relationship deepens as they navigate danger and desire. The looming Oct 1 deadline becomes a central tension.

October 1 Art gallery / date Oct 1

Police question Cristina; her past is revealed

The police begin questioning Cristina about Joey's vigilante activities. She confesses a traumatic past—she was raped by her gymnastics instructor in Warsaw and killed him—and asks to be transferred to Sierra Leone. The revelation adds moral weight to Joey’s choices.

Police station / Warsaw backstory

Joey trades services and is given keys to a refugee/slave truck

Joey continues his pursuit of Isabel’s killer and trades services with Mr. Choy's boss. He is given the keys to a truck carrying refugees/slaves to be delivered, highlighting the brutal logistics of the operation he is entangled with. The line between aid and crime grows thinner.

Mr. Choy's organization

The rooftop invitation leads to the Oct 1 party

A neighbor finds an invitation to a rooftop cocktail party, and the invitation reaches Joey. The party is set for October 1, pulling him into the dangerous social circle on that date. The invitation marks the lead-in to the climactic confrontation.

October 1 Rooftop party

Max Forrester is confronted; Joey seeks vengeance

On October 1, Joey locates Max Forrester at the rooftop party and throws him off the roof. He aims to protect Cristina, but his act of vengeance destabilizes their relationship. Cristina leaves the ballet early, still seeking Joey.

October 1 Rooftop

The morning after: payoff, remorse, and homelessness

The next day, Cristina leaves for Africa and receives a note from Joey saying he has paid his debts but is now homeless again. The police are closing in as he drifts through London, haunted by his choices. His fate remains uncertain as the city carries on around him.

The next day London streets

Hummingbird Characters

Explore all characters from Hummingbird (2013). Get detailed profiles with their roles, arcs, and key relationships explained.


Joey (Jason Statham)

An ex-Special Forces veteran who ends up homeless in London after going AWOL in Afghanistan. He breaks into an empty apartment, assumes the life of Damon, and uses that alias to navigate the city. Through acts of generosity toward Cristina and the soup kitchen, he moves from a path of violence toward a fragile, hard-won redemption.

🪖 Ex-Soldier 🌧️ Homeless 🕊️ Redemption 🤝 Generosity

Cristina (Agata Buzek)

A nun who runs a soup kitchen and becomes Joey's ally. She aids him with medicine and messages for Isabel, and their relationship deepens over time. Her empathy is informed by a personal past, and she embodies a compassionate counterforce to the violence surrounding them.

🙏 Faith 🌍 Humanitarian 💔 Trauma 🤝 Compassion

Mr Choy (Benedict Wong)

The owner of a Chinese restaurant who hires Joey as a driver/thug and oversees extortion and drug deliveries. He operates within a criminal network, using coercion and money to maintain control. His presence grounds the tension between survival and morality in the underworld.

🚗 Crime network 💼 Underworld 🗝️ Corruption

Isabel (Victoria Bewick)

Joey's former partner whose fate drives his vigilante search for her killer. Her memory fuels his anger and sense of responsibility, even as Cristina helps him seek a more just path. Her death becomes the catalyst for the story's moral reckoning.

💔 Lost love 🩸 Violence 🕯️ Remembrance

Max Forrester (Christian Brassington)

The antagonist who embodies brutality, beating a hooker and orchestrating a rooftop party that exposes the deadly stakes of the underworld. He is the killer of Isabel, and his confrontation with Joey culminates in a violent showdown. His presence testifies to the film's exploration of vengeance and consequence.

🗡️ Killer 🔥 Violence 🧭 Obsession

Dawn (Vicky McClure)

Joey's ex-wife, whom he funds and to whom he gives money as a complicated attempt at connection. Her life outside the main action provides another lens on the consequences of Joey's past and his attempts at redemption.

💔 Ex-wife 💸 Financial support 🌆 Urban life

Mother Superior (Ger Ryan)

A religious guide who influences Cristina and the mission's decisions, including a transfer to Sierra Leone. She represents structure, discipline, and moral counsel within the story’s Christian imagery of charity and sacrifice.

🌿 Religious order 💬 Guidance 🌍 Mission work

Hummingbird Settings

Learn where and when Hummingbird (2013) takes place. Explore the film’s settings, era, and how they shape the narrative.


Location

London, United Kingdom, Warsaw, Poland, Sierra Leone

The film unfolds primarily in gritty corners of London, highlighting crowded streets, soup kitchens, and immigrant enclaves. It paints a city where homelessness, crime, and charity collide, giving weight to the daily struggles of its downtrodden. References to Warsaw and Sierra Leone hint at a broader, international backdrop and the missions that shape its characters.

🌆 Cityscape 🏚️ Urban grit 🌍 Diverse neighborhoods 🎭 Nightlife

Hummingbird Themes

Discover the main themes in Hummingbird (2013). Analyze the deeper meanings, emotional layers, and social commentary behind the film.


🕊️

Redemption

A former Special Forces soldier pursues a path away from violence by helping the vulnerable and funding community work. His journey is marked by inner conflict between vengeance and mercy, as he tries to redefine his identity through acts of generosity. The narrative suggests that personal salvation can emerge from selfless acts and connection with others.

🎭

Identity

Joey maintains a double life, adopting the alias Damon while navigating a city that both shelters and exploits him. The tension between his past as a soldier and his present as a handyman of crime highlights how identity is shaped by circumstance and choice. The story uses this duality to explore loneliness and the need for belonging.

⚖️

Consequences

Violence begets collateral damage, affecting bystanders and driving the plot toward a moral reckoning. The pursuit of Isabel's killer underscores the costs of a life lived on the edge of legality. The narrative emphasizes that choices in the criminal world echo back onto the protagonist and those around him.

🤝

Community

Cristina's soup kitchen and the sheltering network of neighbors illustrate how collective care can offer a counterbalance to brutality. Small acts of kindness and mutual support become lifelines for the homeless and marginalized. The film frames community as both refuge and catalyst for change.

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Hummingbird Spoiler-Free Summary

Discover the spoiler-free summary of Hummingbird (2013). Get a concise overview without any spoilers.


In the rain‑slick streets of contemporary London, a city that hums with both opportunity and desperation, the film follows the shadowed world of a restless underbelly where survival is a daily negotiation. The atmosphere is gritty and unflinching, a blend of bleak realism and a restless, almost lyrical energy that makes every alleyway feel like a stage for hidden dramas. It’s a place where the weight of the past clings to the present, and where the line between victim and perpetrator is perpetually blurred.

Joseph Smith is an ex‑Special Forces operative who vanished from his unit and now drifts through the streets as a homeless drifter, haunted by memories that refuse to fade. His life is a fragile balance between numbness and the aching need for redemption, a battle fought in the dim glow of streetlights and the occasional shelter of a soup kitchen. When fate offers a fleeting chance—a vacant apartment belonging to someone else—he seizes the opportunity to assume a new identity, hoping the borrowed life might finally allow him to break free from the ghosts that chase him.

Amid the grime, he encounters a compassionate nun who runs the soup kitchen, a figure of quiet strength who becomes an unexpected anchor. Their tentative friendship hints at a possibility of humanity amidst the chaos, offering Joseph small moments of purpose as he begins to give back to the community that has long ignored him. This connection, coupled with the occasional camaraderie of the street’s other disenfranchised souls, adds a subtle undercurrent of hope to an otherwise unforgiving setting.

Yet the promise of a fresh start is soon entangled with a simmering drive for retribution. Joseph finds himself slipping between the roles of rescuer and avenger, wrestling with inner demons that threaten to consume any chance at peace. The film balances this tension, weaving a tone that is both starkly realistic and emotionally charged, leaving the audience to wonder whether a man forged in war can truly find redemption—or if the streets of London will claim him once more.

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