Beasts of the Southern Wild

Reviewed by Ethan Wasdovitch

After reading about and sorting through the huge amount of hype surrounding this film, I finally got to see Beasts of the Southern Wild and see for myself whether or not it lived up to high expectations.  The short answer is yes, it does live up to those expectations, but in a completely different way than I had anticipated after seeing the trailer.  The movie is extremely realistic in regards to the humanity of the characters and the believability of the situations, but also very surreal in style and is jam packed with imagination and creativity.  I was expecting a movie about the struggles of extreme poverty during a disaster but what the film actually is could be described as a fantasy film about growing up and assuming responsibility.

  Told through the eyes of a very young girl who lives in a community separated from supposedly normal America civilization by a levy, Beasts of the Souther Wild begins as I had imagined it would have but quickly goes off on its own creative tangent.    Scenes early in the movie show Hushpuppy (played in a revelatory and inspiring performance by Quvenzhané Wallis) dealing with her father, who’s health is declining (possibly because of his alcoholic tendencies).  At first I found the father to be abusive in how he treats Hushpuppy, but as the film develops his hard edge turns to be paramount in helping his daughter gain the skills she needs to survive.  However, it is easy to say something like “these people shouldn’t be living in such impoverished conditions” and accuse this film of exploiting poor people for art’s sake.  I think those accusations are missing the point of the movie, and fail to see that the heart of the movie is the connection all of the characters have to their home in the bayou.

As the movie goes on, we see that the bayou (called Bathtub) is in danger because a big storm is coming and will flood the entire area (is this a reference to Hurricane Katrina?).  Hushpuppy, her father and some other select residents of Bathtub decide they will stay in their home and that there is no real purpose in living anywhere else.  This is the dynamic in the film that really stuck with me.  The flood does come and does put the entire area underwater.  But the characters adapt and begin to survive in the new environment.  Much of the film shows this in dreamy montage with Hushpuppy narrating with lines about how everything in the universe is connected (reminded me of Terrence Malick’s films).  They are surviving and refuse to leave their homes because this is the way they live, and there isn’t any real reason for them to change that.

One of the most convincing things about this film is the acting.  Quvenzhané Wallis is simply stunning in the leading role, and rarely do such incredibly young actors have the ability to carry a film while portraying a realistic and emotional character.  The father is also surprisingly sympathetic because of the performance.  He isn’t a character that one would normally like and cheer for, but the lifestyle they live and the environment they live in makes him seem like the most caring, loving father anybody could have.  The relationship Hushpuppy has with her father is fleshed fully out and creates a real emotional connection with the audience.  As for every other character in the film (especially the people who live in the bayou), they could have convinced me that this film was a documentary.  The way everybody talks and is made up is completely genuine and makes you feel like you’re living on floating homes with the locals in the bayou. The same can be said about the sets, everything looks grimy and realistic. This is no small feat for a film with such a minuscule budget.

There are several fantasy elements in the film as well.  Unfortunately this is where the small budget of the film shows.  I feel as if the filmmakers wanted to make a movie with more fantasy elements and more surrealism but the small budget somewhat restricted them.  There are some simply stunning scenes involving giant boars slowly trudging their way towards the bayou (a visual metaphor).  I don’t think this is a huge problem with the movie, and if anything the more minimalistic approach to the fantasy elements may in fact help with the concept humanity that is central to the film.  Also, for a movie with such a small budget, they certainly did make the fantasy elements that are present in the movie believable.  Since I wasn’t expecting anything like this in the movie beforehand, it was a pleasant surprise.  I definitely want to see the movie again to make more sense out of the surreal elements of the movie.

By the end of this film I was utterly confounded and nearly blown-away by the entire ordeal.  First it had completely shattered my expectations, than it introduced deeply humane concepts of family bonds and cultural relativism, and finally it wrapped up all of these elements smoothly all while being crafted with clear talent and precision.  There are elements of fantasy, which serve to help the audience understand that the movie is through the eyes of a six year old girl with a very vivid imagination.  The film is gorgeous in a somewhat dark, gothic way and the settings ands characters are to thank for that.  Out of nowhere Beasts of the Southern Wild is touching and inspiring.  It is a look at a group of people who celebrate life in their own unique way and refuse to let others take it away from them.  It does this mainly by showing us how a six year old’s relationship with her father and with the bayou itself allows her to grow up into a person who is ready for the uncertainty and unpredictability of everyday life.

9.5/10