The six-year-old Hushpuppy and her father Wink live in a dirt-poor Louisiana bayou community called the Bathtub, an area cut off from the rest of civilisation by a levee. Faced with her father’s failing health, the devastation of a hurricane, and imaginings of giant aurochs being unleashed upon the world, she must learn how to survive in an uncertain world.
Oscar-bait is a term that often mars otherwise worthwhile productions, writing them off as shameless and transparent attempts to garner awards by cramming in controversy, social issues or overwrought symbolism. Although often as accurate as it is cynical, it sometimes results in films being dismissed out of hand. Beasts Of The Southern Wild is a film easy to disregard in this way, with its story of a young girl living an impoverished childhood, but the brutal honesty with which it’s told outweighs any such claims made against it.
The fantasy aspects of the film aren’t nearly as overt as the umbrella genre term might inspire images of. Magical realism might be a better, more specific term, implying a fantasy feel to the story, but allowing it to take place in a realistic setting that eschews the otherworldly aspects typical of a more general genre setting. Any unreal aspects of the story are very much secondary to the drama of its characters’ lives. Speaking of them, the Bathtub’s populace may be poor, but they are content with their lives. Their only issue other people comes from their self-contained lives becoming infringed upon by the outside world.
The sense of unreality is further extended by almost the entire film being told from Hushpuppy’s perspective. She is young enough that her sense of wonder has not been tarnished with the immovable rules of reality, and as such her imagination and innocence still run rampant. Prehistoric bovine (Aurochs were giant cattle, but here look like big pigs) frozen since the Ice Age returning to reclaim the world from humans may seem a ridiculous concept, but to her it’s just as likely a possibility a prospect of the eventual storm that all but destroys her home.
First time actress Quvenzhané Wallis recently became the youngest ever nominee for the Best Actress Oscar, which will doubtless increase both the film’s notoriety and the possibility of aforementioned claims against it. She gives a fantastic performance as Hushpuppy, a precocious child and one whose independence make you feel she can deal with any situation that fate presents her with. Wink may seem a little hard on her at times, but it’s clear he wants to ensure that she’s able to look after herself once he’s gone. You’re left with no doubt she’ll be able to.
Overall Verdict: Moving and poignant without the irritating pretension that blights similar efforts, Beasts Of The Southern Wild is not for everyone, but those who can appreciate it will find it rich and rewarding.
Special Features:
Making Of
Casting
Deleted Scenes with Director’s Commentary
Award-Winning Short Film Glory at Sea
Trailer
Reviewer: Andrew Marshall