Total Pageviews

Saturday, April 4, 2015

The Writer's Life 4/4 - Beasts

A title such as Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) suggests a documentary, and the film bears aspects of it, as it is shot in a cinema verite style. The story takes place in The Bathtub, that part of Louisiana devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The inhabitants are a hardy, apparently uneducated lot, blacks and whites. It is a backwoods world so different than 99% of America. When the storm hits, only a few stay to ride it out. The focus is on a father and daughter. He is a harsh taskmaster whose heart is failing. She is adorable, affectingly played by Quvenzhané Wallis, who later appeared in 12 Years a Slave (2013) and recently starred in the 2014 version of Annie. She has magical screen presence. The narrative is from her character’s imaginative point of view. Dwight Henry is outstanding as her father. The work’s chief strength is its uncompromising, often unpleasant look into people rarely depicted on the silver screen. How accurate is it? That’s anyone’s guess. The only aspect that rankled me was its suggestion that The Storm of the Century was directly attributable to global warming. Other than that, I didn’t detect any politicking. Temperaratures have remained flat for 18 years, throwing the charts of alarmists completely out of whack. The ice caps of the north are receding, those of the south are expanding. Who knows what to make of it all? Whatever. Commentators at IMDb disagree about Beasts... The differences are lively, many negative, just as many positive. I’m somewhere in the middle. I liked that it wasn’t the same ol’ same ol’. I wasn’t turned off by the fact that it seems pointless, as the place and occupants are so unique. Although the performances seem authentic, I imagine most of the cast are amateurs. In checking credits at IMDb, the principals have few. It was directed by Benh Zeitlin, who grew up in NYC, and whose previous works were shorts. I’m sure he will be getting a lot more assignments and it will be interesting to see what he creates. The film cracked Top Ten lists and received several award nominations. It also was successful at the box office, bringing in almost 13 million on a budget of two million. 63,000+ users have rated it at IMDb, forging to a consensus of 7.3 of ten. I rate three on a scale of five. Anyone interested in the unconventional should take a chance on it. Those who prefer traditional storytelling should pass.


It was another case of the Chase bank at 85th Street and Bay Parkway blocking a strong wind, allowing me to set up the floating book shop. I sold only one book, but it was one of my own, Killing, so the session was a victory. My thanks to the woman who bought it for her husband Joe, who is in the hospital.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/pdxwsnt
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

No comments:

Post a Comment