Beast – The feature debut from director Michael Pearce is a cleverly layered film that finds itself floating between the foreboding doom of a classic serial killer thriller and a dramatic love story.
Set in the island of Jersey, a community which has been shocked by a recent series of gruesome female murders, the film draws focus to a beautiful yet troubled redheaded woman called Moll. Played by the captivating Jessie Buckley, Moll is a 20-something tour guide still living at home with her parents. Living under the control of her commanding matriarchal mother Hilary (Geraldine James), Moll lives a bleak life in shadow of her two well-presented siblings. Through a series of events, Moll sets of on somewhat of a revolt and soon meets the rugged and mysterious Pascal. Brought to life by Johnny Flynn, Pascal is a quietly charismatic, rough blonde-haired guy with a dark past. He carries a rifle and rides a dusty old Land Rover. Soon pulling Moll away from the feigned civility of her upper-class family, the audience slowly begin to see that a similar dark side connects with them both. With the frequency and brutality of the murders intensifying, Pascal becomes a character increasingly entangled within case as suspect and Moll is forced to see how far she would go to protect him.
Cleverly set between impending dark scenes and intimate moments, it is the standout performance of Jessie Buckley who gives life to narrative. With the gradual transformation of Moll driving the movie, subtle changes slowly begin to manifest in her demeanour and Buckley perfectly captures this in her performance. Well matched by the Johnny Flynn portraying Pascal, the pair exhibit an on-screen chemistry that’s both emotive and striking. Intimate scenes develop their connection to one another and as the film progresses it’s hard not to be drawn by the strange yet powerful dynamic that brings them passionately together.
While the overall narrative of the story does leave the audience wanting more substance at times, steady pacing and well shot scenes effectively depict the central theme of the primal within and it slowly seeps into the film’s fabric. Overall, Beast is an emotive and dark debut feature from Michael Pearce that finds much of its appeal through excellent performances and carefully curated character development.
Beast will be released on Thursday 13 September.
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