Beast (2017)
First screened in February 2019
Director: Michael Pearce. Cast: Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, Geraldine James, Trystan Gravelle, Shannon Tarbet, Oliver Maltman, Hattie Gotobed, Emily Taaffe, Charley Palmer Rothwell, Olwen Fouéré, Tim Woodward, Barry Aird, Tyrone Lopez. Screenplay: Michael Pearce.

 Twitter Capsule: Nervy fable about scales and spectrums of complicity; takes a rigorous interest in how we project our own guilts onto others.

Second Capsule: Jessie Buckley and Johnny Flynn give two of the year's most psychologically intricate performances, and every aspect of craft is impressive.

VOR: ④  Serial killers, fictional or otherwise, do not hold me in their imaginative grip—but this movie has much else to say about psychic and social dynamics.


Photo © 2017 BFI/Film4/Agile Films/Stray Bear Productions,
© 2018 Roadside Attractions/30 West

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: B+

Awards:
British Academy Awards (BAFTAs): Best Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer (Michael Pearce and Lauren Dark)
British Independent Film Awards: Most Promising Newcomer (Buckley)
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