"Beast beast ready to act! Beast beast ready to act!"
Three interwoven stories of youth navigating identity, first love, petty crime, and gun violence in a Southern, American town. Brimming with energy and style, Beast Beast captures what it means to come of age in an era marked by technology and social media, where violent clashes awaken dormant passions and teenagers are faced with growing up all too quickly. This movie has fascinated me before I even had the chance to see it. Last year it premiered in the NEXT category at Sundance (that's a category where there's next level thinking or some unique approach that you wouldn't see in a typically movie if you don't know) and gained very mixed reviews over the controversial subject matter. Just this past week or so, it finally got a release date on Tubi which is a very abnormal place to stream a movie. I paid for it on a student discount, but had I not I don't think I would have ever remembered that it was a thing. Anyway, Beast Beast is definitely a unique movie. There's a lot of over stylization which gives it flare and something to remember. Sometimes it could be a bit much, but it caught my attention. The beginning had me for a bit. I wanted to know how these three characters would connect through the story, and also find out what the controversy was about. Shirley Chen plays Krista, and she is marvelous. For a very indie flick, that is some of the best casting right there and I would hope to see her in more. She's the core of the whole thing and almost too good for the movie. The others are good, but she stands out from the rest.
Going into the second act, it takes a more predictable turn. From there, it's easy to see what the key points will be. There's one scene that did take me by surprise even though I knew it was coming. The movie becomes rocky in pacing as well. For the most part I was entertained, but there are times that I spaced out of what was actually happening. As for the controversy, I can understand. Gun violence is a main topic throughout and it does have things to say, but it voices them in a manner that doesn't exactly work. At one point or more, there's almost a romanticism of it even though the message is against it. It's sort of offensive. Some won't see this and others will see this as downright offensive. I'm more in the middle because from what I saw it was fighting against itself to speak about it. The third act is a bit messy and feels almost abrupt. With the first two acts focusing its time on what it means to be a teen and having those experiences, the turn it takes messed up the pacing and the story. Danny Madden does have good skills going into the film. As a director and writer, he has a voice but it's conflicted with itself. One thing I will say is he worked on the editing which I found really good. Also, the sound design and music selection is very good. An interesting thing about the sound design plays into the title. For those who don't know, "Beast beast" is a theatre exercise to hype everyone up. They chant until it turns almost into absolute chaos, which is what the movie wants to do. I like the ideas brought to the table, but the execution didn't always work. Beast Beast is one that will be hard to forget and someday I may want to consider a second viewing to help me with my mixed feelings towards it.
