A solid film that I only wish I’d had a chance to see in theaters, but it wasn’t released in most of the major chains since Netflix (the film’s distributor and major place to watch it) released it on the site and in theaters on the same day. Naturally, theaters aren’t excited for that, and while I don’t really blame them I do think something of “Beasts” grand-scale probably gets lost in home viewing.
What Works: As a tale of one African boy’s journey from regular life to child soldier, the film does wonders to humanize and contextualize something that seems one-dimensionally horrific to most of us. It starts with the startling declaration that the government forces the rebels are fighting are no better than the men who would need child soldiers for their pitifully ragtag “armies” and in that jumping off point “Beasts” is less about Joseph Koni and more about…well, any tribal conflict in Africa that has used militias in place of formal armies (Sudan, Rwanda, Congo, Liberia, etc.).
Idris Elba should be a shoo-in for a “Best Supporting Actor” nomination for his performance as a manipulative, resentful rebel leader who’s much craftier than you’re initially expecting. The film’s skill is in taking what could have been a stereotypically villainous character—we’ve all seen the trigger-happy lunatic “general” in other films—and showing why he would be charismatic and pragmatic enough to get people to follow him.
What Doesn’t: The movie does a good job of capturing the brief terror and long boredom of guerilla warfare, but that aimlessness begins to shape the film itself. The film’s you-are-there structure is easier to admire than find dramatically successful. And it must be said that “Beasts” is written and directed by someone not African who never names the country it’s set in nor Elba’s character (who is just called “Commandant”) nor the politics of the central conflict (we hear nothing of tribes and not much about the government’s beef with the rebels). This is meant to invoke a feeling of “all wars are the same” but it also feels more than a little vague…[And yes, the country wasn’t directly identified in the book this movie is based on either, but many changes took place in the translation from page to screen–like Elba’s “commandant” taking sexual advantage of the boys–so this is one that could have been changed too.]
What I Would Have Done Differently: For a much more specific and concise film about a real African tragedy check out Elba’s “Sometimes in April” the best film I’ve ever seen about the genocide in Rwanda.