Beast (2017 film)


Beast is a 2017 British psychological thriller film written and directed by Michael Pearce, starring Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, and Geraldine James.
The film had its world premiere in the Platform section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.

Plot

Troubled and fragile, 27-year-old Moll works as a tour guide while living with her controlling, wealthy parents to help care for her father with dementia. The community is on-edge following a string of unsolved rapes and murders of young women in the area.
During Moll's birthday party, her sister hijacks the reception to announce that she is pregnant with twins. Feeling unvalued by her family, Moll leaves the party and goes to a nightclub, where she dances with a young man she meets there. The man aggressively pursues her as they leave the club and forces himself upon her near the beach, insisting on a kiss, but Moll is rescued by poacher Pascal, who fends off her pursuer with a hunting rifle. She is drawn to him, craving love and excitement, although she is warned off by family and police because Pascal is a suspect in the murders. As their relationship blossoms, Moll reveals some of her troubled past to Pascal: as a teenager she stabbed one of her classmates, though she claims it was in self-defence due to being bullied.
A fourth murder victim is discovered, a girl who disappeared on the night of Moll's birthday party. Moll begins to wonder if Pascal might be involved. When she is questioned by Clifford, a police detective who has a crush on her, she lies about her first encounter with Pascal, claiming she met him at the nightclub and they danced there all night. Clifford informs her of Pascal's criminal past, which includes an assault charge for choking a girl as a teenager. Moll confronts Pascal about it and he reacts angrily, saying he has made mistakes in the past but regrets it to this day. They profess their love for each other and drop the argument.
At a family function at the local country club, Moll's sister calls for the staff when she notices that Pascal is wearing jeans against the club dress code. An indignant Moll causes a scene, by making a toast to her parents whilst stating she forgives them. She is promptly kicked out, disowning her family and defiling their immaculate golf course with a club. She moves in with Pascal but he is soon taken into custody under suspicion of his involvement in the murders. She repeats her claim about meeting him in the club. The lead detective accuses Moll of protecting a possible murderer and wonders aloud if she is seeking retribution against the community, to which Moll storms out indignant. Moll is plagued by nightmares and abused by the community.
Wracked with guilt over the latest murdered girl, Moll abandons her job and goes to a department store, where at work, she finds the girl she stabbed as a teenager. She apologizes, claims she's not a bad person, then attempts to explain what she did before was in self-defence; the employee reacts angrily and tells her to leave. Moll then goes to the deceased girl's memorial and comforts the girl's mother, offering her condolences but she is regarded as an outcast and told to leave.
Clifford visits Moll at her home and informs her that they believe they caught the murderer: an immigrant farmer. He also apologizes for treating her with suspicion but insists that Pascal is still bad news, then reiterates his own feelings for her. Relieved, Moll celebrates by going out drinking with Pascal; she tries to persuade him to leave the island with her to build a life elsewhere but he reacted angrily, choke-slamming her against a wall in anger. Moll escapes to Clifford's house and admits to lying about Pascal's whereabouts on the night of the murder; he chastises her harshly and tells her to get out. Moll makes her way to the site where the latest victim was discovered. She lies in the same spot, feeling a connection with the victim and resolving to take action.
She meets Pascal for dinner at a beach front restaurant during which Moll invites Pascal to admit his involvement in the murders, now convinced it was him. She coaxes him by admitting her own secret: that she stabbed the girl not in self-defence but in revenge, deliberately trying to kill her. Pascal maintains it is not true, but agrees to say the words she wants to hear: that it is now over. She seemingly accepts his answer and they leave but during the drive home as he leans over to kiss her, Moll unbuckles Pascal's seatbelt and crashes the car. Badly injured, he begs for forgiveness and claims that they are "the same" but Moll ignores him, sits astride his body and strangles him in a silent scream. When he is dead she rolls onto her back and then slowly gets to her feet.

Cast

acquired the North American distribution rights to Beast four days after its Toronto International Film Festival premiere and released the film in the United States in partnership with Roadside Attractions on May 11, 2018, after screening at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in that country.
Altitude Film Distribution acquired the distribution rights for the UK. Beast had a limited theatrical release in the UK on April 27, 2018.

Critical reception

The film has received a positive critical response. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 142 reviews, and an average rating of 7.28/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Beast plays like bleak poetry, unfurling its psychological thrills while guided by its captivating leads and mesmerizing, visceral visuals." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
For The Canadian Press, David Friend called it "a twisty story about the monster that lies within all of us, and struggle to keep it contained." Peter Howell of the Toronto Star said it was "a jagged but memorable feature... that slowly yields its truths."

Accolades