BEAST

Survival thrillers are nothing new in the world of Hollywood, and for each of the genres greats, you could probably pinpoint ten bog standard, dot-to-dot affairs.

A group of - often annoying, and often teenage - people go somewhere that they're not supposed to be and predator takes exception at the fact that these people have come into their kingdom. Said predator goes on a rampage, killing some and wounding others, before our lead, and one or two of their sidekicks, kill the beast and make their escape.

So, what does Beast do to try and make itself standout.

Well, firstly, it has Idris Elba. Elba plays Nate, a Doctor who, in an attempt to become closer to his daughters, takes them on a trip to South Africa, to visit the place where his late wife grew up

Elba’s portrayal of Nate elevates Beasts lead above the standard cookie cutter tedium that the genre often supplies. He manages to make Nate three dimensional. He is well meaning, though by no means perfect. Oblivious at times to his daughters wants and needs, but who will, at multiple times throughout, put himself in harms way to protect them.

This relationship between Nate and his daughters - played by Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries - is the heart of the film, and is a thread that the film makers remain interested in throughout. This is not just a plot device, designed to get the characters where they need to be, and then forgotten about. It is arguably the main narrative of the film, and the story that director Baltasar Kormákur seems most interested in telling.

Here, the survival story is almost secondary. The lion is the plot device used to bring the characters together, rather than the other way around.

Perhaps, however, the biggest weapon that Beast has in its arsenal is Philippe Rousselot’s skilful cinematography.

There are a number of scenes set in the confines of a crashed jeep, but even in this environment, Rousselot manages to still do something interesting with his camerawork, using its sleek movements to exacerbate the claustrophobia rather than diminish it.

Rousselot also makes excellent use of the natural camouflage that the South African game reserve provides to it’s wildlife, meaning that the audience, along with the characters, can never truly relax, as there is always the feeling that an attack could come from any corner of the screen. Threats appear as if from nowhere, meaning that you never totally no where you are meant to be looking.

There is comfort in stillness, so when the camera slink its way through the characters and the environments like a predator stalking its prey, this automatically, perhaps subconsciously, unnerves.

With Beast the audience are not “in on it”. We cannot take comfort in the fact that we might know a little bit more than the characters do, so we can just go along for the ride. While in the world of the film the characters are being hunted by the titular Beast, in the real world we are the quarry of the filmmakers.

It is not all perfect however. Outside the father and daughters relationship the plot is fairly well worn. It is well presented, and the CGI Lions look great, but it is also about as predictable as they come. You could pause the film fifteen minutes in and story board exactly where it is going to go.

On top of this, some of the dialogue, especially that of the Halley and Jeffries Meredith and Nora, feels stale, and you can tell at times that it is a forty-three year old man, writing for teenage girls.

Beasts survival thriller bones may by well chewed by now, but it manages to elevate itself above most, through excellent cinematography and a sterling lead performance by Idris Elba.

It does not break new ground, but instead offers a fun and unnerving feature, with enough thrills to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.

It might not be in the same league as Jaws, but it comes significantly closer than most.