Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Director: Benh Zeitlin
Quick Impressions:
So in our city, practically every movie worth seeing in September comes out on the twenty-first. Okay, maybe that’s not completely true, but next weekend is packed with high profile releases. Popcorn flick Dredd 3D, well-cast horror title The House at the End of the Street, pleasant-looking-baseball-Eastwoodfest Trouble with the Curve, cop-drama End of Watch. Even Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master (out in theaters now) doesn’t open here until next weekend.
But it’s not next weekend yet, so my husband and I went to “the art theater” to watch Beasts of the Southern Wild (the movie that lost out to Killer Joe when we were choosing last week).
Even though I don’t know how we’ll possibly see all of the upcoming releases we have our eye on, I am very glad we saw Beasts of the Southern Wild tonight. The child star Quvenzhané Wallis gives a performance more than worthy of the universal acclaim she’s getting, and as her troubled but amazingly sympathetic father, Dwight Henry is revelatory and riveting.
The Good:
I love movies that depict a portion of America not usually seen on the big screen (or anywhere else). In that way, Beasts of the Southern reminded me a bit of recent Oscar nominee Winter’s Bone a wonderfully gritty film about the Missouri Ozarks that my father (from the area) found surprisingly realistic and accurate. In movies, we see so much of big cities—New York, LA, Chicago—quaint Southern communities, quirky Western towns, teen-riddled Midwestern suburbs, the part of Boston where the Whalbergs and the Afflecks grew up. But I’ve never seen another movie about the Bathtub, a part of Louisiana that lies beyond the levee in what seems to be a saltwater swamp.
This movie provides an interesting perspective about why certain people refuse to evacuate during hurricanes. As my husband pointed out, the interference they face from the people trying to “help” them is just as scary as the storm—in some ways, scarier, because surviving storms is the devil they know. I also recall many arguments with acquaintances about “how you could ever get into that situation.” Well, maybe you start out there.
At first Hushpuppy’s father Wink seems like a scary, unreliable figure, a neglectful and possibly abusive, Huckleberry-Finn-type father, but the longer you see him, the better you begin to understand the true nature of the character and what he hopes to achieve through his unorthodox parenting style.
The community in the Bathtub actually seems rather appealing, if unusual. As the school teacher’s initial lesson and the intercalary scenes of the prehistoric aurochs suggest, the residents of the Bathtub are the isolated relics of an earlier age and likely the last of their kind. They survive by their own skill, in their own way, courageous, proud, and dependent on no one.
I thought the school looked pretty good, too. I mean, the lessons are interesting, the teacher (winningly played by Gina Montana) is nurturing, and many of the students are able to survive a hurricane. (In the same situation, the entire Breakfast Club—even Bender—would surely have perished. And they’ve all got about ten years on Hushpuppy.)
The movie also has a really captivating (musical) theme and probably deserves a nomination for Best Score.
Most Oscar Worthy Moment (Dwight Henry):
Everywhere you look, somebody seems to be predicting a best actress nomination for Quvenzhané Wallis. I’m certainly not denying that she’s good. What a powerful performance from such a young actress! But now that I’ve seen the movie, I honestly think that excellent as Wallis is, Dwight Henry is even better as her tormented father, Wink.
As we left the theater, my husband pointed out that when Wink tells the story about the crocodile attack that led to Hushpuppy’s conception, his face lights up and his entire countenance changes. He looks like a younger, more vital man with dreams bigger than his worries.
I personally fell in love with Henry’s performance when Wink and Hushpuppy went out on their makeshift fishing boat in the wake of the storm. When somberly beholding the ruin of his home and likely decimation of his neighbors, Wink looks like a completely different man than he does in his bold interactions with Hushpuppy, catching fish and hammering home survival skills. The story could probably work successfully on an empty stage, Our Town style, because Henry’s face is so evocative that it tells the whole story without any need for actual surroundings.
After I initially suspected the story would involve child abuse given some early quirks of Wink’s behavior, Henry’s ability to win me over and make Wink amazingly, heart-breakingly sympathetic should earn him an Oscar nomination. I’m sure I’m not the only one whose heart he touched with that passionate performance of a courageous-yet-terrified, well-meaning man who just can’t win.
Most Oscar Worthy Moment (Quvenzhané Wallis):
Quvenzhané Wallis is nine years old, but she landed the role of Hushpuppy at age five. For someone so young, she shows remarkable command of the character and makes Hushpuppy’s amazing strength and courage come across just as they’re meant to. Not every young performer can achieve this kind of cinematic intensity. Her work reminds me a lot of young Freddie Highmore angrily tearing apart the set in Finding Neverland. But Wallis maintains this level of intensity throughout the entire film. Beasts of the Southern Wild has only two stars, two central characters who carry the story, and one of them is just a little girl. No wonder so many people are talking about her performance. She’s remarkable.
Early on, Wallis has a wonderful scene when she burns down her house. (This sounds odd, but makes more sense as it happens on screen.) She’s excellent throughout this scene, and her wonderful performance only improves as the film goes on. Some of my favorite moments with Hushpuppy come as she watches and listens to the adults around her, trying to make sense of what is happening. I love the way that she listens attentively and then adjusts her mood to fit the circumstances as she sees them. She definitely deserves a nomination and other leading roles in future movies.
I read in an interview just now (when trying to determine her actual age during filming) that Wallis’s own favorite scene was when she ate the crab. I thought that part was pretty great, as well, particularly the way the moment concludes.
Best Action Sequence:
How can you beat the scene where Wink tries to allay Hushpuppy’s fears by running outside during the hurricane and showing the storm he wasn’t scared? The scene is incredibly captivating throughout for many reasons and is definitely a turning point in the film.
Best Scene:
A strong moment with Dwight Henry and Quvenzhané Wallis comes in one of their late scenes together when Hushpuppy confronts her father and curtly accuses him of keeping her in the dark about what’s really going on, leading first to a kind of pillow fight, then to an unusual bout of screaming.
Even better is the scene the two share later in the parking lot when Wink tries to put Hushpuppy on a bus and she angrily runs off again. What he says to her about fathers—so theatrically stern, undeniably true, and heartbreakingly sweet—really resonates. And she responds with such palpable passion and determined, courageous restraint. Anybody who doesn’t cry has no soul.
(Just kidding, but I can’t imagine how you wouldn’t cry. Right after this scene, an elderly gentleman a few rows in front of us began conspicuously blowing his nose.)
Funniest Scene/Best Joke:
I really love the couple who run the bar. (At least, I assume it’s their bar.) They’re winningly zany. I love the way the guy just walks out the door and sinks into the water. And then they go inside and find the lady passed out under the table. Those two were wonderful.
I also laughed at the weird guy who picks up the girls on the boat and starts rambling about how healthy chicken sandwiches are (punctuating this remark with a cough). He’s an usual person, to say the least. He’s more than just comic relief, of course, but he did make me smile.
Visually:
The opening of the movie is wonderful—everything up to the moment when the opening title flashes across the screen. Not only is the environment rich and arrestingly distinctive, but the camera angle always seems to be low and in motion—like we’re experiencing the environment through a child’s eyes. Throughout the story, you really get a strong idea of how Hushpuppy perceives the world around her.
The Negatives:
The part with the aurochs at the end felt a little weird to me. It wasn’t exactly bad, but I’m not sure that the confrontation actually enhanced the story. I mean, I get it. And I’m not saying it’s a failure on the film’s part, but it’s certainly a bold choice. The next moment when we discover what Hushpuppy has brought home with her is wonderfully touching, though.
I’m a bit unsure about Hushpuppy’s final trip in the film. I understand the choice she ultimately makes (though it seems only a matter of time before something else is chosen for her), but her excursion on the guy’s boat in search of someone is less easy to understand.
I come away thinking that Hushpuppy has realized that what she needs, she must find within herself. She comes away realizing that she already has what matters and must protect it, living up to her father’s vision of what she must become and how she should behave (in order to survive).
As we drove home, my husband asked me some questions about the identity of the woman in—let’s just call it—the dance hall. (I’m trying to avoid spoilers.) I could answer him pretty quickly, but I’m not sure that my answer is entirely correct, and I’m not sure that we (or Hushpuppy) can ever solve this mystery completely. I don’t know that this is really a negative, but I’m the kind of person who likes to be sure about things. (If you can’t figure out what on earth I’m rambling out, see the movie first, and then ask me questions.)
Also, whenever I see a movie with such a specific and unusual setting, I’m always curious about authenticity. I’m very curious to learn more about the writers and the director (as I’m sure I will during the upcoming Oscar season).
Overall:
This is an enchanting movie that raises as many questions as it answers and offers something truly different at the box office. Beasts of the Southern Wild is a captivating film starring a little girl who gives a towering performance. Quvenzhané Wallis is intense and amazing as Hushpuppy, and Henry Dwight is honestly even better as her struggling father Wink. I’m sure we’ll be hearing both of their names quite often in the months to come.