#SUNDANCE18: “BEAST” REVIEW

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

Beast is a compelling Thriller about a young woman (Jessie Buckley) who falls for a mysterious outsider (Johnny Flynn) who becomes a suspect in a series of violent murders.

Writer-Director Michael Pearce crafts an ambitious and impressive first Feature. He creates steady suspense throughout with his direction until the explosive climax. Pearce writes extremely complex characters that swerve in and out of protagonists and antagonists.

These characters evolve over the course of the Film due to the tremendous cast. Buckley is a magnetic force playing the perplexing Moll who brings her character from quiet and refrained to assertive and uninhibited effortlessly. While Flynn makes his Pascal a humorous, mysterious and often questionable man. The pairing of Buckley and Flynn is golden and enhances the compelling script.

Beast screens at Sundance on Jan. 19 at 6PM at Tower SLC, Jan. 22 at 3PM at Sundance Resort, Jan. 23 at 6PM at PC Library, and Jan. 27 at 10PM at Redstone 2 PC.