Review of Beatriz at Dinner (2017) by Susan W — 26 Jun 2017

Last night, I saw Wonder Woman but the noise and the CGI's grew tiresome and that movie was at least 20 minutes too long. Needing a rest, I drove to another theater to see the much Beatriz at Dinner.

I really liked Beatriz although I will readily admit it is not for everyone. I just read some reviews that told me the critics were not sufficiently versed in either Latin American literature or the French New Wave.

The screenplay owes a debt to both Magical Realism and to French cinema. Was I disappointed in the ending? At first, but, I think it represents what Beatriz might have done and the audience was led to believe it is what she might have done.

Peter Ranier of the Christian Science Monitor described Beatriz as "more than a bit unhinged." I totally disagree.

I think Beatriz is an introvert who is trying to be social while aware of how far she is removed from the dinner guests in social and economic terms. I liked the way Beatriz was the 50 year old actress who played her, without makeup, yet neatly groomed and more attractive than the rich women whose clothes and hair were rather ugly.

Was it heavy handed that the petite Beatriz wore sneakers while the women wore spike heels and that her opponent and target was the very large John Lithgow? No.

However, both movies shared a variant on the same theme: humans are their own worst enemy. Wonder Woman saw humans as war mongers and Beatriz as greedy destroyers of the environment but both movies are about man's inhumanity to man.

Both feature women who know they are right but are both nearly destroyed by their self-assigned quests.

I thought seeing both movies on the same night was a practical thing to do but they fit together so nicely, I was glad that I did.