Benh
Zeitlin’s debut feature Beasts of the
Southern Wild is both one of the year’s most impressive feats and one of
its greatest disappointments. It signals the arrival of some phenomenal talent,
in particular Zeitlin himself along with an eye-opening performance by the
six-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis. It accomplishes one of the most impressive
feats in filmmaking; it creates a fictional and fantastical environment—an
impoverished Louisiana community called “The Bathtub”—that is also recognizably
of this world. It is a film that deals with many pressing 21st century issues
without being too overt about it, but it ultimately doesn’t quite figure out
how to convincingly convey its point of view.
Wallis
plays the young Hushpuppy, who also narrates. Her relationship with her father
Wink (Dwight Henry) is loving but strained—at times Wink will disappear for no
real reason—and she yearns to meet her long-lost mother. The Bathtub winds up
flooding when a particularly bad storm comes through, and those who remain are
looking to adapt as best they can. Things get complicated when outside
influences start entering their environment; most of which are met with anger.
There is also a few more fantastical elements, such as a herd of aurochs that
are released into the wild when the ice caps begin to melt.
However,
plot is mostly besides the point. Beasts
of the Southern Wild is aiming for more of a Malickian effect; a style it
apes down the loving shots of nature and Wallis’ Days of Heaven-esque narration. While it often works wonders, Beasts is quite different from most
Malick films in that it is never quite able to spin its considerable straw into
gold. The film is at its best when it invites us to explore the pre-apocalyptic
world of The Bathtub and its residents, and at these points the universe feels
fully-realized. Everything takes a step back after the storm hits, and whenever
the characters leave The Bathtub the film often loses its way. Zeitlin wants to
paint The Bathtub as an oasis that no one would ever want to leave, but instead
it just looks like the disaster zone that it is. For the main argument of Beasts to work, its setting has to be
painted as more appealing than it looks. Particularly once everything goes
under water.
My
reaction to Beasts is not dissimilar
to what I thought of last year’s Bellflower,
another film that gained quite a bit of buzz in the indie world. In both cases,
the films quite effectively announce the arrivals of talented filmmakers. On
the other hand, they both stumble mightily in their second halves and
ultimately fail to drive their respective points home effectively. Beasts of the Southern Wild is
inevitably unfocused, like most Malick films as well, but the problem is that
it feels unfocused. After a
while it feels like it is simply limping to the finish line, and the ending
ultimately lacks the power that it is so desperately reaching for. It’s
admirable that Zeitlin aimed so high with his first feature, and perhaps next
time his reach won’t exceed his grasp.
Grade: C+
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