There's something a little peculiar about the Channel Island of Jersey. Unless you've visited there, its hard to properly convey its unique combination of oddity and charm, a curious blend that serves perfectly as the backdrop to Michael Pearce's atmospheric thriller, Beast.
Moll lives with her parents in their large house within a small community on the island. Her questionable past and apparent lack of real direction in life is in stark contrast to her squeaky clean sister, Polly (Shannon Tarbet), who lives a picture-perfect lifestyle with her pilot husband, much to the delight of the girls' rather judgemental mother. Whereas Polly has moved away from the shackles of the family home, Moll remains, under the protective - bordering on oppressive - watch of her mother who expects at the very least for Moll to toe the family line and help out with caring for her dementia-afflicted father.
Not entirely unreasonable requests you'd agree, though Moll's erratic nature proves to be frequently at odds with her Mother's simple demands.
A bizarre, fractious encounter on a night out, however, leads to the beginnings of a passionate fling between Moll and a mysterious local lad, Pascal. But Pascal harbours a criminal past, and with an as yet unidentified killer at large on the island, the eyes of the law are now firmly trained upon this somewhat shady Channel Islander; and through her association with him, Moll soon finds herself also under unwanted scrutiny.
Moll and Pascal are two kindred spirits, with dark pasts and inner demons. Together they share a passionate union based upon unconditional support and trust, which only serves to increasingly ostracise them from the island's polite society.
Brutal re-imaginings of Moll's own particular unsavoury past are illustrated by way of graphic dream-like sequences in which she becomes not the perpetrator, but the victim. A sort of guilt-ridden interpretation of her own enduring shame, perhaps?
Beast is a sort of tense and alluring coming-of-age affair. Whilst by strict definition it would probably be considered a murder mystery, it rarely ever feels like any sort of conventional whodunit, but more like a psychological probing and evaluation of confused minds.
Jessie Buckley is a tremendous piece of casting. All curly bobbed red hair, unworthiness and self-loathing, her sense of not belonging is palpable. Johnny Flynn's rather visceral portrayal of the wiry scruff, Pascal, is simultaneously mysterious, devious and charming, whilst Geraldine James puts in a perfectly judged performance as Moll's cold and controlling mother, Hilary.
In slight criticism, I'm left in two minds as to whether the increasingly visceral nature of Buckley's performance as the piece develops - particularly in relation to her mind's own descent into a very dark place - is artistically inspired or in fact rather overly self-indulgent. And the whole 're-invigorated, independent powerful woman in film' routine, which seems to accompany just about every film narrative at present, is perhaps losing its impact now through over-saturation.
Two small points to consider, but no matter, Michael Pearce's Beast is undeniably a most impressive debut feature, whetting the appetite, we hope, for more to come.
This and hundreds of other films are reviewed on my WaywardWolfBlog
Moll lives with her parents in their large house within a small community on the island. Her questionable past and apparent lack of real direction in life is in stark contrast to her squeaky clean sister, Polly (Shannon Tarbet), who lives a picture-perfect lifestyle with her pilot husband, much to the delight of the girls' rather judgemental mother. Whereas Polly has moved away from the shackles of the family home, Moll remains, under the protective - bordering on oppressive - watch of her mother who expects at the very least for Moll to toe the family line and help out with caring for her dementia-afflicted father.
Not entirely unreasonable requests you'd agree, though Moll's erratic nature proves to be frequently at odds with her Mother's simple demands.
A bizarre, fractious encounter on a night out, however, leads to the beginnings of a passionate fling between Moll and a mysterious local lad, Pascal. But Pascal harbours a criminal past, and with an as yet unidentified killer at large on the island, the eyes of the law are now firmly trained upon this somewhat shady Channel Islander; and through her association with him, Moll soon finds herself also under unwanted scrutiny.
Moll and Pascal are two kindred spirits, with dark pasts and inner demons. Together they share a passionate union based upon unconditional support and trust, which only serves to increasingly ostracise them from the island's polite society.
Brutal re-imaginings of Moll's own particular unsavoury past are illustrated by way of graphic dream-like sequences in which she becomes not the perpetrator, but the victim. A sort of guilt-ridden interpretation of her own enduring shame, perhaps?
Beast is a sort of tense and alluring coming-of-age affair. Whilst by strict definition it would probably be considered a murder mystery, it rarely ever feels like any sort of conventional whodunit, but more like a psychological probing and evaluation of confused minds.
Jessie Buckley is a tremendous piece of casting. All curly bobbed red hair, unworthiness and self-loathing, her sense of not belonging is palpable. Johnny Flynn's rather visceral portrayal of the wiry scruff, Pascal, is simultaneously mysterious, devious and charming, whilst Geraldine James puts in a perfectly judged performance as Moll's cold and controlling mother, Hilary.
In slight criticism, I'm left in two minds as to whether the increasingly visceral nature of Buckley's performance as the piece develops - particularly in relation to her mind's own descent into a very dark place - is artistically inspired or in fact rather overly self-indulgent. And the whole 're-invigorated, independent powerful woman in film' routine, which seems to accompany just about every film narrative at present, is perhaps losing its impact now through over-saturation.
Two small points to consider, but no matter, Michael Pearce's Beast is undeniably a most impressive debut feature, whetting the appetite, we hope, for more to come.
This and hundreds of other films are reviewed on my WaywardWolfBlog