Starring: Quvenzhane Wallis, Dwight Henry, Gina montana, Joseph Brown, Levy Easterly
Director: Benh Zeitlin
Initial Release Date/s: 01/20/12 [Sundance Film Festival] & 06/27/12 [Limited United States]
Running Time: 92 Minutes
I found myself
watching something with a gritty charm and childish quality. I also found myself strongly absorbed, from the film's start, to its end. Encapsulated in a dystopia that seems truer than what most
perceive, while delivering a strong flare of pulsating emotions.
Loosely adapted
from a stage play, called “Juicy and
Delicious” [awesome titles], by film's co-writer, Lucy Alibar. The film is
panned to a cool visual tone, properly complimenting the heavy-set drama. Showcasing stunning & shockingly astounding footages, makes you feel well-immersed in its awe-evoking atmosphere Some scenes hold a genuine feelings and light-hearted humor, which act as tiny palette cleansers. The movie had almost a Slumdog Millionaire [2008] quality,
mixed-in with some The Road [2009]
and Water World [1995].
The film's story revolves
around a curious and fearless 8-year-old girl with a brown wavy afro that's as big as her
personality, and as peculiar as her name, Hushpuppy (Wallis). She lives with
her father, Wink [The writers of this movie choose the most interesting names]
(Henry), in " the Bathtub" – a Delta community south of Louisiana.
The whereabouts of Hushpuppy’s mother is not directly discussed in the film. It
can only be assumed that she is either left or had died. Wink’s love for
Hushpuppy can only be described as tough; because he does his best to prepare
for when he will inevitable pass away & for the unwinding of the universe.
Hushpuppy finds out that her father is gravely ill, but is not sure as to what
it exactly is. During this period, a quarrel occurs between the two and the
universe suddenly begins to fall apart. This particular incident causes a
violent storm that floods the Bathtub, and releases these prehistoric
creatures, known as Aurochs, which are portrayed as these primitive giant
ancestors of modern bovines. At this point, Hushpuppy, Wink, and the other
survivors of the Bathtub, go on adventures in hopes to make their lives better
without having to leave the Delta that they love so much. Little do they know
that what awaits for them is a world of fantasy and surprising twists.
Plot–wise it was
kind of hard to keep up, because the film seems to pan from reality, to flashes
of bizarre surrealism. The themes introduced, like climate change, social
schisms, and an allusion to metaphysics. Though most are approached through a
child’s perspective, and the paintbrush of a post-Katrina Louisiana wetland, it
almost completely understandable. Yet I seem to feel that the story could’ve
told more.
Two of the
movie’s leading performers, Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry, who are literally
fresh in the business, manage to perform like veterans. Quvenzhane [Does movie
run out of awesome names?] was 8, when the film was first shot, delivers an
Oscar-worthy performance that made my goose bumps crawl like crazy. Her
projection of words and actions made the movie what it was. The way she carried her character felt almost like the transformation of the smallest kid in the playground, into this larger-than-life superhero. Dwight, on the
other hand, was just the owner of a local bakery, managed to deliver another
quality performance too. His prtral of a strong-willed, but stubbornly loving father was truly a treat. And his "closing act' was truly the film's most touching moment. Their on-screen chemistry is something very great that it seems to overshadow other father-child/mentor-student relation of films like “The Ballad of Jack & Rose [2005],” “Karate Kid [1984]” and “Pursuit of Happyness [2006].” I was
surprised to find out that both had no formal training of whatsoever, which
made their performances very special. The film doesn’t have long wordy dialogues
between characters, but their performances felt so candid you wouldn’t care
about the dialogues’ length.
The footages shot
in the film were very brilliant. Fireworks; boars dressed as their Neolithic
relatives; an assortment of swamp treats; a dog’s mangled carcass; and a
brothel by the everglade, give a great sense of stunning imagery. Employing an
almost Guerilla-style of filming, which is highly common in independent film
culture, helps increase the emotional drama by tenfold. I can only imagine, how
Quvenzhane felt when she initially saw the corpse of that dog with its organs
scattered all over the mucky dirt road.
Given that the
film was a first for the general cast and most of the production crew, you
would imagine it to be something less. But you are dead wrong, if you think
that. Entwined by a spectrum of fantasy, drama, and profundity, into a tale of
heroism. “Beast in the Southern Wild” is something bigger than it’s small
budget and small-scale setting, because of its large heart, which puts a great
emphasis on its endearing spirit.
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