BEAST

This film is set on Jersey but we’re a long way from cosy Bergerac country. For a start there’s a nasty serial killer on the loose. 

But although this film is described as a psychological thriller it is more of a drama, the hunt for the killer being a backdrop to the main story.

We begin with a birthday party for Moll, who cuts an isolated and unhappy figure.  Her mood is not improved when her mother orders her to fetch champagne to celebrate the news that Moll’s sister is pregnant. 

After a small act of self harm in the kitchen with some broken glass Moll hightails it to a club for some all-night revelry.  This eventually leads her to meet handsome Pascal with whom she starts a passionate love affair.

Pascal has his own business as a craftsman with some illegal poaching on the side, so he doesn't meet with the approval of Moll's upper middle-class mother or of her wider family.  

Moreover the mother (well played by Geraldine James) is the cold and controlling type, so she doesn’t appreciate Moll showing any independence.  Moll is treated as the family's dogsbody,  expected to look after her dad, who has dementia, or baby sit whenever required.  On top of this she has an unfulfilling job as a tour guide.

So initially one’s sympathies are with Moll, even when we learn that when she was thirteen she stabbed a classmate.  After all, she says it was in self defence because she was being bullied.

Without much in the way of evidence the police arrest Pascal on suspicion of being the killer, which makes Moll even more isolated and unpopular.

It is at this point that she starts to behave in ways that reveal just how damaged she is, which leads inexorably to a tragic finale.

Moll is played by Jesse Buckley in her film debut, and it’s an accomplished performance in a challenging role especially since she is in every scene.

RATING: ✓ Cheers