Beasts of the Southern Wild Review

(in what will be my last Oscar picture of the year  review for this season. i said i wouldnt do this one but hey wishy washy etc)

Beasts of the Southern Wild Review

Director: Benh Zeitlin

Cast Headliner: Quvenzhane Wallis

Original Release Date: June 27, 2012

Seen: February 1^st, 2013

Beasts of the Southern Wild is an interesting movie. It’s certainly a story that has not really been shown before. Residents of a fictional town called “The Bathtub” on the south coast of America go about their daily lives. The main focus is a young girl named Hushpuppy, played by Wallis who was only 8 when this was filmed. She’s an adorable little thing, and the character is surprisingly good with advanced vocabulary or concepts.  She lives with her dad Wink who is semi-crazy. Their world is thrown into some serious ruckus when a hurricane comes through.

It has gained much other critical acclaim, but what I found was a very flawed film.  Wink never really changes; Wink is kind of a jerk. He tries to be a good father but just comes off as an idiot to me.  Hushpuppy goes on some sort of personal journey in the film, but she also gives off the vibe of being annoying at times when she’s not being cute.  Essentially all the other characters in the film aren’t that likeable. It is a rough community, and the film shows them cleaning up after the hurricane and getting supplies and such.  It can get extremely dull at parts, aside from some moments of excitement.

Some of those exciting moments are when Beasts of the Southern Wild celebrates life. It may get dark at times (and the film can too ;)), but there are moments of happiness.  The beginning has a great feeling for what it’s like to be a child in a loving community, and those parts were good to have when things would soon get bleak. That cheer comes in sometimes later, but disappears somewhere.

A major complaint was the whole “Aurochs” subplot. The idea of ancient creatures coming out of nowhere and wreaking havoc was totally random and frankly does not really belong in this kind of movie. They don’t even look like what Aurochs should have looked like, instead looking like ugly boars.

This review has kind of meandered I apologize, but that is because the movie meanders. Not much about it impressed me. Sure it was decent, but nothing incredible. It is a unique film with some highlights, but not a mandatory watch.  7.4 out of 10