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BEAST
****
Dir: Michael Pearce.
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, Geraldine James
(UK, 15, 1hr 47mins)
In an isolated community, a rebellious and troubled young woman finds herself torn between her manipulative family and the allure of love between her and a roguish outsider. At the height of a terror of serial killings that have swept the small island, this young woman’s lover is accused as a suspect, sending her and the town into a frenzy.
“Do you think he saw it at our cinema and was inspired?” says the creepy former cinema operator in Zodiac when talking about 1932 horror classic The Most Dangerous Game. I asked a similar question about this film. But while it has loose inspirations drawn from The Most Dangerous Game, it is its own beast, with some nods here and there to the horror classic. Ultimately it is a warped yet insightful comment on relationships and our animalistic brains.
It’s clear seeing the details in script, character and dialogue. The film takes great care in layering the film with on-the-nose suggestions to animalistic themes. We slowly see the descent of our protagonist Moll (Jessie Buckley) from her oppressive civilised institution to her barbaric earthy hidden self.
Institutional oppression or lack of success is a key theme for many horror films and Beast echoes this with its choir symphonies and the ruthless attitude present in the police force. There is a character brought in as part of the police investigation that exemplifies both but twists the motif on its head; the alluring love life with a suspected serial killer that is the main through-line of Beast humorously seems to be the saner option. It’s the anxiety around trusted institutions of social circles, the police force and family being morphed into these gothic characters, bringing a spine-tingling tension.
However, the focus of the story makes polar shifts, with the tone quite uneven in parts. Sometimes it ventures more into a dramatic romantic tale, with very little detail on the police procedural, giving a lack of narrative drive to parts of the film.
That is not to say it forgets what it is, quite the opposite; the heated passion of these two lovers is constantly smeared with an uncompromising pressure. Words and glances seem to echo as you question their meaning, made insurmountable by the staggeringly possessive performance from Jessie Buckley. It’s a deeply complex and often outright absolutely confusing portrayal but ultimately an all-encompassing character that will have you hanging off her every word. Johnny Flynn plays his part in contrast as the lover Pascal Renouf, reserved, secretive and less showy but still just as powerful if not for a few dry deliveries here and there. This film really belongs to the two of them, adding an uncertain nature to their relationship and the outcome of events; they are integral to keeping the plot as nail-biting as it is.
While much of these characters and the story itself breaths an air of predictability, the film does a marvellous job keeping you on your toes. Echoing the anxious, erratic characters, so too does its plot possess these qualities. Shifting between passionate warped romance and gothic horror murder mystery can be quite unsettling but evidently, that has the desired effect. Sharp, direct and yet subtle, Beast controls its audience and characters with clarity and while its ending seems somewhat rushed and flat it still bears interest and discussion. Beast is an absolutely exhilarating primal rush from start to finish, an astonishing directional debut from Michael Pearce.
words JAKE YOUNG
Beast is out now in cinemas.