Beast Beast
Promising new acting talent features in a drama that retreads familiar ground.
Danny Madden is here following a not unusual path since this first feature, of which he is both writer and director, is an elaboration of a short film that he had made earlier. However, you don't need to be aware of that work to find a sense of familiarity in Beast Beast. This is a film about young people living in America - in this case the setting is Georgia - and it is clear from the outset that firearms will play a part in it. Although we may not be sure as to exactly what will follow, it immediately echoes other movies that we have seen over the years even though it reflects current headlines, those continuing reminders that America is a nation in which students living ordinary lives can all too suddenly find themselves at risk from a confrontation involving an individual with a shotgun.
Some films treating this kind of material are frankly exploitation movies, but there have also been serious social studies in films such as Gus Van Sant's Elephant (2003) and Tim Sutton's Dark Night (2016). That last film, a fascinating piece too little known, actually stopped short of the act of violence to which it led up and the first two-thirds of Beast Beast is comparable in tone to that. Rather than shaping a big narrative, it simply observes the lives of three youngsters and intercuts between them. The oldest is 24-year-old Adam (Will Madden) who lives with his parents but devotes himself to building up his own website show. Entitled 'Prime Shooter', it focuses on weapons and invites viewers to follow each episode. Krista (Shirley Chen) happens to be a neighbour and is still a student, an Asian-American with an interest in acting. At a party she meets Nito (Jose Angeles), a Filipino with a father who shows little regard for him. The consequence is that Nito has a need for companionship that leads him into bad company in which he is exploited yet Krista quickly recognises his good qualities.
Beast Beast follows the daily lives of these people for an hour or so without building up any really strong drama although there is obvious concern as to where Adam's obsession might be leading him. The film is aided by the quality of its leading players, all of whom show great confidence, and by the fact that the dialogue sounds spot on. But with the older characters kept firmly on the margins the appeal of the film relies strongly on the audience responding to the youngsters portrayed. That is to say that if the focus is on Generation Z it is also that generation who, through their direct recognition of the authentic characterisations and their ability to identify accordingly, will respond to it best.
As it turns out, the last third of the film changes gear and, even if the course of events is not always predictable, the emotional drama that now builds is close enough to melodrama to seem at odds with the tone of the movie up to that point. Where Dark Night remained true to itself throughout, Beast Beast in contrast moves away from social observation possessed of general validity to become a tale of a much more personal kind, an individual fiction rather than a work that resonates on a recognisable social level. For viewers able to identify closely with its protagonists, it may all hold together even so, but others may well become more distanced from it good though the acting is.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Shirley Chen, Will Madden, Jose Angeles, Courtney Diez, Daniel Rashid, Anissa Matlock, Stephen Ruffin, Chip Carriere, Kion Moore, Susan Gallagher, Charles Green, Cynthia Barrett.
Dir Danny Madden, Pro Tara Ashley, Jim Cummings, Matt Miller and Benjamin Weissner, Ex Pro Alec Baldwin and Casey Bade, Screenplay Danny Madden, Ph Kristian Zuniga, Pro Des Charlie Textor, Ed David Brundige, Pete Ohs and Mari Walker, Music Danny Madden and Robert Allaire, Costumes Lauren Wilde.
Vanishing Angle/Arsonist's Films/Persona Entertainment/El Dorado Pictures-Blue Finch Film Releasing.
87 mins. USA. 2020. Rel: 30 April 2021. Available on VOD. Cert. 15.
