Review of Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) by Mike C — 01 Mar 2013

Guess I won't begin this review by calling the child actress a name! This is another of the movies where, maybe if I stumble upon it by accident, I'm impressed. Knowing it was up for several Oscars, and having seen the writer/director on the Daily Show, etc, I guess my expectations were just a bit too high.

My problem with throwing Oscar noms at unknown names is they are...unknown. The big girl from Precious...was she acting? Where has she been since? I don't know much about this little girl that kind of carries the movie, so how do I know if she's actually doing a good job of acting? That said, she does do a well-enough job. It's just a tough movie to watch. It's rather...beastly.

I don't get off on the fantastical element of the movie. The beasts are probably what kicks the movie into Oscar talks. It gives the movie a level of seriousness...what are they trying to say with the beasts? Hell, I don't know. Just tell me the story of the people living below the levee. I did enjoy the double-entendre if that's what it is...forget the fake beasts. The people are the beasts. The dad screams at the girl to be a beast. He himself is a beast when doctors try to give him care. The rest of the community...also beasts. It's just a tough question: in the event of a tragedy like Katrina, what is our obligation to those who do not want to be helped? That question becomes even more muddied when there are kids involved or those people do something to hurt the part of society that does want to be helped....like blowing a hole in the levee.