Certificate: 15 (strong language, threat, violence). Running Time: 139 mins. UK Distributor: Curzon
WHO’S IN IT?
Denis Ménochet, Marina Foïs, Luis Zahera, Diego Anido, Marie Colomb, Machi Salgado, Luisa Merelas
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Rodrigo Sorogoyen (director, writer, producer), Isabel Peña (writer), Ignasi Estapé, Anne-Laure Labadie, Jean Labadie, Nacho Lavilla, Thomas Pibarot and Eduardo Villanueva (producers), Olivier Arson (composer), Alejandro de Pablo (cinematographer), Alberto del Campo (editor)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A French couple (Ménochet and Foïs) start a farm in the Galician countryside, alongside some nasty neighbours…
WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE BEASTS?
“Love thy neighbour”, so the Bible teaches us – but that doesn’t apply in the slightest to the particularly nasty ones that feature in The Beasts, a dark and menacing French-Spanish co-production that makes the neighbours in Rear Window, The ‘Burbs, and even Bad Neighbours all collectively look like Ned Flanders by comparison.
The film, directed and co-written by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, picks up not too long after French couple Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and Olga (Marina Foïs) have moved to the Galician countryside to set up their own farm, but have already run afoul of the menacing and xenophobic local farming community, specifically brothers Xan (Luis Zahera) and Lorenzo (Diego Anido). They’re particularly antagonistic towards the much more educated Antoine because he vetoed a deal to sell local land for the construction of wind turbines, which would have netted them more money than they honestly know what to do with. Despite Antoine trying to keep things civil, the brothers’ petty and eventually dangerous acts against their competing farm cause him to take drastic measures in order to bring them to justice, which results in some shocking turns that leave things on a much more sinister note.
Mere minutes in, The Beasts introduces and does not let go of the building intensity that slowly consumes its central characters over the course of the film. Director Sorogoyen does a good job of putting the viewer in an increasing sense of uncertainty as the heroes and villains continue butting heads, with even the quieter and less consequential scenes carrying a certain unease since you’re never entirely sure if someone is going to suddenly lash out at any given moment. It’s a well-paced thriller that tends to play a little bit with your expectations, as there will be long and uncomfortable dialogue scenes where nearly every line practically comes with its own guidebook to explain their subtext, while other moments, such as when Denis Ménochet’s Antoine attempts to secretly record the threatening encounters with these brothers, gradually escalate into full-on Straw Dogs territory, especially given the harsh and deeply unsettling tone that they carry.
Sorogoyen and co-writer Isabel Peña allow for plenty of moments for their script to naturally become more and more tense to the point of potential eruption, which are performed extremely well by a cast that nails exactly what their characters should be. You feel for both Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs as they continuously get harassed and intimidated by their surrounding bullies, especially when one of them delivers a powerful monologue in one long, uncut take, and when the other later on descends into such a stubborn state of denial that you really identify their inner tragedy. Then, you have a pair of extremely antagonistic performances by Luis Zahera and Diego Anido who both are great at being imposing and unhinged, to a point where you do become just as scared as the French protagonists are of them, because you have no idea what they’re thinking, or even if they’re much smarter than they appear to be, which makes them total wild cards from beginning to end.
The film eventually reaches a point that alters the film significantly, with a shocking moment that is tightly shot as well as sharply executed, but oddly it is also this point when the film begins to lose track of its ultimate goal. Very suddenly, the pacing, the intensity, and even the perspectives of The Beasts are shaken up, transforming it into almost a completely different movie that, while still not bad, doesn’t feel quite as worthy as everything leading up to this section. It’s still well-shot, well-acted, and in a lot of respects well-written, but since you were feeling nothing but growing dread beforehand, only for it now to be all but entirely stripped away and replaced with something less thrilling, is an interesting direction to go on but is ultimately one that leaves things on a less satisfying note than one might have hoped with all of that build-up.
While the latter section may leave the viewer wanting a bit more out of it than what they get, The Beasts works best when it’s being an intimidating and intense territorial thriller that explores deep hatred and toxic masculine energy in largely effective and sometimes chilling ways. Most of all, though, it’s a film that contains neighbours that you would actively move as far away from as possible, possibly even to entirely different continents, just to avoid crossing them in any capacity – so much for “love thy neighbour”, then.
SO, TO SUM UP…
The Beasts is an intense thriller that slowly builds upon its sense of unease as it explores the growingly dangerous turf war between farmers in the Galician countryside with tightly-wound and intimidating direction and writing, as well as some memorably unhinged performances, although a shocking late turn alters the film to a slightly less satisfactory pace.
The Beasts is now showing in cinemas nationwide –click here to find a screening near you!
It is also available to rent exclusively on Curzon Home Cinema.
