Beast (2018)

Review

107min

Genre:       Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance

Director:    Michael Pearce

Cast:         Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, Geraldine James…and more

Writer:      Michael Pearce

-Synopsis-

When a repressed young woman meets a mysterious stranger in an isolated island community, she becomes caught between duty towards her oppressive family and an infatuation with a man suspected of multiple murders . . . and the way he makes her feel, in this British feature debut from indie writer/director Michael Pearce.

After forging a career directing commercials and impressing at indie film festivals across Europe with award-winning shorts, Jersey filmmaker Pearce turns to his native Channel Islands for his feature film debut with a dark relationship parable about repression and escaping our nature, weaving together a murderous but nuanced character drama draped in mood and mystery—and putting his own tense atmospheric spin on the classic outsider drama and ‘forbidden lovers’ romance.

Jessie Buckley stars as local Jersey tour guide ‘Moll’, a repressed young woman with a troubled past who struggles with the attentions of her domineering mother ‘Hilary’ (Geraldine James), and a small tight-knit community reeling from a series of brutal murders involving local girls. When she meets her apparent ‘knight in grubby armour’ ‘Pascal’ (Johnny Flynn)—a young local handyman and fellow outsider with whom she forms a deep connection—Moll is torn between the community’s suspicions of his involvement in the brutal crimes and her trust in him, as quiet island living is morbidly shaken up and her own suppressed nature begins to surface.

Considering this is his feature debut and a British indie with a modest budget, Pearce has carefully crafted an impressive nuanced and reflective character piece devoid of unnecessary melodrama but with plenty of incident, and a dark unconventional take on the conventional forbidden romance drama, with a female-centric core which is balanced and avoids taking a predictable feminist path. ‘Beast’ is also somewhat of a thriller, albeit a subtle one, featuring crime mystery elements which despite not being particularly intricate nor offering a major payoff, still manage to be captivating thanks to its qualities as something of a slow-burn masterclass.

In terms of style, Pearce makes good use of limited resources with the film’s sights and sounds contributing hugely to its atmosphere, as the director uses his experience of provincial island living to thread themes of isolation and escape into the narrative—while cinematographer Benjamin Kracun beautifully captures everything with a hazy quality, which adds melancholy to some truly picturesque rural coastal scenery, and complements the moody score from Jim Williams.

‘Beast’ takes elements of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ and combines them with a bit of ‘Bonnie and Clyde’, featuring that classic narrative trope of a prim and proper girl who falls for a roguish rebel from the wrong side of the tracks, whom only she really understands—but Pearce’s concoction adds a dramatic layer or two, before subverting things into something darker and harder to pin down. Yet at heart this is a morbid story of broken people with crosses to bear, two outsider kindred spirits who connect over emotional scarring and marginalisation, both struggling to understand and threatening to unleash each other’s ominous nature.

Although there’s no denying the atmosphere and the mood of the piece, ‘Beast’ is by  no means gripping or tense enough to be considered a true thriller, so those hanging on the promise  of the murder and mystery elements in the plot might find themselves slightly disappointed by the flow and the conclusion. Despite the film’s dark undertones there is virtually no visible violence, and the menace is mostly implied, while the intrigue—although maintained throughout—becomes somewhat of a side note to the character development.

Yet as a simple but layered character piece, ‘Beast’ is an undoubtedly captivating indie drama, thanks largely to the performances of its two leads and a formidable supporting turn from British acting grande dame Geraldine James.

After a burgeoning career as both actress and singer on stage and the small screen, plus shorts and voice work, versatile performer Jessie Buckley effectively makes her feature debut with a restrained and but hugely emotive lead turn—alongside fellow versatile young British musician-come-actor and candidate for Cillian Murphy successor Johnny Flynn, with whom she shares undeniable on-camera chemistry, the combination of which lights up the screen with measured and ultimately foreboding passion.

And it’s these performance which elevate Pearce’s assured, measured and slightly morally ambiguous feature debut beyond a solid if unspectacular slow-burn thriller and crime mystery, turning it into a hazy and intoxicating but confounding character study and a morbid romantic fairy tale—subverting established tropes and warning us about unleashing our inner beasts.

The Bottom Line…

Finely judged human drama soaked in atmosphere and draped in intrigue, Michael Pearce combines forbidden romance with crime/mystery and a bit of thriller but subverts familiar tropes along the way, creating a nuanced morbid character study devoid of melodrama but with plenty of incident—resulting in a dark and morally confounding parable about repression and unleashing your nature, and making for a poised feature debut.

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