Theatre of an Actress Unworked characters, scripted jambs, Hollywood stamps and gray acting. And against the background of all this rises Jesse Buckley, the only one who believes and sympathizes, even though her character is not only undeveloped, but also incomprehensible.
The first few minutes of the film, which describes the birthday of the Mall, really catchy, especially if the viewer is familiar with the feeling of abandonment and if he understands why people engage in self-harm (do not take into account the emo girls returning 2007). What the heroine begins to do further does not fit into any logic, and in the context of the film, her actions look like a way to stretch the timekeeping.
Moll goes to the store to a former classmate to apologize for the offense inflicted 14 years ago. The episode does not affect the plot in any way: this act will not backfire on the main character in the future. The main character from the new side does not reveal: how deep her guilt is, we already understood from flashbacks and dialogues. Most likely, the creators wanted to reinforce one of the main ideas of the film: society is a goat that puts restrictions and puts you down for life. But we have already realized that the episodes of communication between Moll and the family fully explained everything. Just as an inexperienced or bad journalist does not know how to erase unnecessary words from a text because they seem beautiful to him, so the creators of The Beast 39 do not know how to delete unnecessary episodes. This is only one example of unnecessary episodes, but the feeling that without this or that moment, the film will not lose anything, then and then returns to the very end of the tape.
But back to the main character and her strange behavior. Already at the beginning of the film, suspicion creeps in, which as events unfold, flows into a firm belief that Moll is not well with his head. It's not a reproach. Quite the opposite. Thanks to Jesse’s acting talent, the underworked, raw heroine turned into a girl with a serious personality disorder. In any case, it is good if so, because otherwise it is impossible to explain her sudden outbursts of aggression, inability to control herself, stupid and simply incomprehensible actions that she does for some reason, and sometimes inadequate, excessive emotionality. However, if you start from this version, then in the end there will be disappointment.
The main problem of Moll is that the creators tried to embody a complex and ambiguous person with a difficult fate, but did not last and left a lot of gaps in her character. But, no matter how underdeveloped the main character, surrounded by her even more unfinished characters. Mother Mall is a naked archetype. A strict maman who agreed with her daughter that they were best friends. Exactly the same strict maman we have seen in hundreds of other Hollywood films.
The rest of the characters are not even cardboards, but just pictures that flash in the frame and say something. This is where their role ends.
In theory, the lover Moll should attract attention no less than the main character. Moreover, the viewer of the whole film, almost from the very appearance of Pascal, not even hinted, but directly reported that the new friend Moll is not all right with the head and in general he is the main suspect in the murders occurring on the island. To give the guy credit, he really attracts attention. A typical bad guy that girls will like: a little sloppy, a poacher with a gun, drives away a heartless party man who almost raped Mall right on the street. Of course, the handsome one, so that all the girls in the hall would look around, and the guys would be jealous. But it's all a hoax. He doesn't look like a serial killer or a lover of little girls. No behavior, no habits, no way of life. I don't believe it, as Stanislavsky said. There must be some details, perhaps almost inconspicuous, that betrayed a heartless killer in him. While these details are not, he remains just handsome to attract women’s eyes, which, moreover, plays so himself.
Returning to the topic of superfluous scenes and cinematic cliches. There's enough. Scenes of sex in slomo, flashbacks and dreams that do not give any information and are more likely to catch up with boredom than excite compassion in the viewer. Their real function is simply to delay the ending.
And yet there is one really worthy moment in the film (besides the delightful Jesse Buckley). Recall the typical answers of movie characters to the question ' What does he / she like so much?' - '[hero / heroine long painted all the virtues of the beloved (oh)]', ' HE IS EXACTLY BETTER YOU!!!!!', 'I don’t know... just... he’s not like the others [more pauses for more dramatic]' In ' The Beast' it's simple: 'I like its smell' After all, the smell strongly affects, and it is simply impossible to love a person whose smell is unpleasant or indifferent. In addition, it reminds of the animal principle in man. Unusually, the creators used this in the film. It's a great artifact.
The average pace of development, relatively small timekeeping and a minimum of suspense (which is strange for a thriller, but fine) make the picture quite a good way to relax, give rest to the brain and nerves. But you can eat a bucket of popcorn or hold on to the handle with your loved one (you need to emphasize). And, of course, on the big screen to watch the amazing game of Jesse Buckley.
Verdict: the film is worth spending once on a hundredth session and the opportunity to write a devastating review on the search. 5 out of 10.
Original