Review of Beast (2018) by Imdoingmypart — 10 Jun 2018

Alfred Hitchcock created film experiences that, as the credits roll, both excite and depress me a bit knowing that they are near the peak of film mysteries in general. More than fifty years later, it is still a thrill to thrown on Rear Window or Psycho and become immersed in the always-clever "who done it" situations, whether they are confined to an apartment building or sprawled out over a national monument. It is incredibly rare to encounter a murder mystery that even belongs in the same sentence as one of Hitchcock's seminal works, and it is even more special to see one of these high quality films when the director's last name is not "Fincher." 2018 now has its great murder mystery in Beast.

In the vein of Hitchcock's thrillers, Beast quietly introduces Moll, a disengaged young woman living unwillingly in British aristocracy on an island. Similar to Titanic's Rose, Moll enjoys a luxurious but ultimately empty existence. Her family is not a unit to be admired; her sister is kind enough to announce her pregnancy in the middle of Moll's birthday party. Moll has had enough and decides to seek adventure via night clubs and island adventures. She soon meets Pascal, a mysterious young man who marches to his own drum and seems to lack any connection with society. Moll's family predictably rejects Pascal, causing increasing tension between Moll and her family and heightening her desire to simply run away and live the simple life with Pascal. Everything becomes far more complicated, however, when the police announce a connection between a string of murders that have occurred on the island in the past couple of years. The film then launches into a tense mystery where the audience and police race to figure out who could have committed these crimes. Beast is shockingly grounded and does not get caught up in the silliness that plagues far too many mystery films. Its grounded nature causes Beast to function simultaneously as a study of psychology and sociology, avoiding cliches and allowing certain character motivations to remain as thrilling a mystery as the murders themselves. Moll and Pascal both have troubled pasts but are currently well-behaved and even submissive to authority; what caused them to act out in the past? The film is greatly rewarding and ties together all loose ends without any cheap tricks. Beast actually becomes more and more engaging as it moves along and never forces any grossly sentimental moments or suspension of disbelief. Its small and grounded nature is what allows the film to achieve such a rewarding third act.

Comparing almost any film to the works of Hitchcock is a bit ridiculous, and Beast will certainly not be revered on the same level as Rear Window and Psycho. But not every mystery film needs to be a cinematic masterpiece, and Beast finds great success in its subdued nature. This strong mystery film is wholly engaging, shockingly deep, and full of enough twists and turns to provide a thrilling theater experience that is more reminiscent of film's greatest mystery installments than just about any other recent crime thriller.