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 Moll’s birthday party, 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 mother or of her wider family.  

Moreover the mother (well played by Geraldine James) is the cold and controlling type, so she doesn’t approve of Moll showing some independence.  

So initially one’s sympathies are with Moll, especially she's treated as the family's dogsbody,    expected to look after her dad, who has dementia, or baby sit whenever required.  Plus she has an unfulfilling job as a tour guide.

Even when we learn that when she was thirteen she stabbed a classmate I continued to feel that she’s a good person who deserves happiness, given that she says it was in 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.