Beast: Film Review

Beast wasn’t really on my radar but positive word of mouth encouraged me to check it out, and I’m glad I did – it is one impressive, slow-burning psychological thriller.

Beast follows the life of Moll (Jessie Buckley), a troubled 27-year-old who lives at home with her overbearing mother Hilary (Geraldine James) in Jersey. She doesn’t have a life of her own, she is clearly tortured by some demons and she has to be at the house a lot to look after her sick father. She then becomes torn between her oppressive family and outsider Pascal (Johnny Flynn), who is suspected of a series of brutal murders.

I am not one of ambiguity. Followers of this blog will have read me complaining about a film being too ambiguous plenty of times, but Beast is one of those rare occasions where it actually works. You don’t know if Pascal actually committed the murders, or if Moll did, or if they did it together. Viewers will each come away with their own interpretation of what goes down, and although I would love a clear answer, I think it’s cool because it makes you think about it for a long time afterwards.

Beast really is a slow-burner and it could have done with a bit of a chop, but the ending makes it all worth it. Those last 10-15 minutes were wild and I was on edge because I had no idea what was going to happen. I’m glad it goes out with such a bang because it does sag in the middle just a bit. It is still riveting, the whole thing is, but I was aware that I wanted it to be wrapped up soon.

The performances are amazing and I cannot overstate that enough. I didn’t know much about Buckley before this but I will certainly pay attention to her now. She has to be so many things at once and portray so many emotions and you never know if she is good or bad. That goes for Flynn too – his role is more understated but you can never read him. Even though they are both playing twisted characters, you can’t help but care for them. You strive for them to be together because he makes her happy and gets her away from her family and you hope neither of them has anything to do with the murders.

This is quite slow and indie so might not please some people, but trust me when I say it pays off in the end.

In cinemas from Friday 27th April