Beasts of the Southern Wild // DVD Review
"It’s a breathtakingly brutal, tear-pissingly moving and savagely beautiful odyssey of a young girl’s struggle for survival..."
DVD of the Month – Beasts of the Southern Wild
God, I love the Oscars! In the midst of a recession it’s heart-warming to see millionaires dressed in annual salaries giving each other gold statues. Also, sometimes the Oscars serve to place on your radar a film that may otherwise have escaped your notice, and it’s a particular joy when that film is far from the usual sentimental guff Hollywood likes to back-slap itself for producing. I probably wouldn’t have seen BOTSW had its four nominations – film, director, actress and screenplay – not made it part of my pre-Oscars preparations, but I’m cock-a-hoop they did.
I’ve got a feeling I’m not going to be able to convey just how good it is, but I’ll have a bash: It’s a breathtakingly brutal, tear-pissingly moving and savagely beautiful odyssey of a young girl’s struggle for survival in a water-logged, near-future dystopia based loosely on the Bayou area in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Sold yet? I thought not.
“But, Jay, how can such awful subject matter imbue a film which, according to you, is lovely, and that?” I hear you ask. Great film-making and acting, that’s how. BOTSW is rich in symbolism, metaphor and allegory, subtly blended into a kind of magic reality. For much of the film we feel like we’re seeing through the eyes of young Hushpuppy, rendering the magic all the more beautiful, and the reality profoundly bleak. Naturally, It all hangs off the performance of Quvenzhané Wallis who, at just nine years old, is the youngest ever nominee for a best actress Oscar. It’s a prodigious, heart-breaking turn, directed with savvy and skill.
I’ll have one last go: This unique masterpiece is honestly one of the best films I’ve seen in years. Still not convinced? Then why even bother reading this column, you nob.
Jay Freeman
