| Beautiful Creatures |
In the last several years in British cinema, the lads have been enjoying a renaissance. There have been the comic spins (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Plunkett and Macleane) and the heavier dramas (Sexy Beast, Gangster No. 1). In most of these efforts, if female characters appear at all, they are peripheral. For some reason though, when a filmmaker decides to put women front and center in similar type of motion picture, that director gets raked over the coals by critics and audiences. The role of women in society has forever changed and continues to advance (in some sectors more slowly than ever). Lately, I've noticed a backlash against some movies that have strong female leads. It's one thing if the role is played by a popular actress and she wears trashy clothes and a push-up bra (yes, I mean Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich), it's another thing if she played by a less stellar (but sometimes more gifted actress), particularly if that character flaunts conventions (for example, Juliette Binoche in Chocolat). Strong women were the mainstays of Hollywood films from the 1920s through to the early 1960s. With the breakup of the studio system and the rise of the auteur independent filmmakers, actresses have had to take a back seat to the leading man. Hollywood also seems to want its leading ladies to be barely out of puberty as well, as the conventional wisdom is that by age 35 most actresses are no longer marketable. (There are always exceptions.) Still, when some of our finest performers are reduced to playing supporting roles or making fools of themselves in "character" roles for which they are unsuited, there is something amiss. Even with the proliferation of female talent and executives, things haven't changed. What does all this have to do with Beautiful Creatures? Well, the film has been attacked for its anti-male sentiments (despite being written by and directed by men). It features two fine actresses who are at the peak of their prowess - Susan Lynch and Rachel Weisz - and it turns the tables on the recent spate of laddish features. Here the women are front and center and propelling the plot. No mere window dressings, these are two flawed females who bond over the fact that each is involved in abusive relationships. The film opens with a voice-over argument between Glaswegian Dorothy (Lynch) and her lover Tony (Iain Glen) who possesses a hair-trigger temper. They are on a train home and their altercation spills over in public. Having locked herself in the water closet to avoid Tony's blows, Dorothy makes her way home and finds the place trashed and her white Alsatian named Pluto died pink. (Tony has attempted to make it look like he hurt the dog.) Fed up, Dorothy packs to leave but on her way to the bus she spies Petula (Weisz) on the receiving end of blows from her abusive boyfriend Brian (Tom Mannion). Not one to just stand and watch or to walk on by, Dorothy picks up a pipe and knocks Brian out cold. She and Petula drag him back to her apartment and the two women begin an unlikely friendship that leads to a ransom scheme (they plan to bilk Brian's wealthy older brother, played by Maurice Roeves, out of a million pounds) and a police investigation by a crooked detective inspector (Alex Norton). Naturally, all sorts of complications ensue, including Tony's unexpected return and the policeman's double dealing. To reveal anything further would spoil it for viewers. Actor-writer Simon Donald's screenplay is black comedy at its darkest and may not appeal to a wide audience as a result. Beautiful Creatures lacks the snarky attitudinal tone of, say, Shallow Grave (which Andrew Macdonald also produced), but, thanks mostly to the lead performances of Susan Lynch and Rachel Weisz, the film does have some spark. These two women who otherwise probably wouldn't have connected find common ground and develop an odd friendship. While some aspects of the plot are a little far-fetched, the actresses manage to remain intriguing. Lynch adopts a take-charge, no-nonsense approach that is only undermined when her bullying lover returns. Weisz has the outer trappings of a dimwitted bimbo -- platinum hair, a vacant, quizzical look -- but her Petula finds inner resources that surprise both her and the viewers. Granted, Beautiful Creatures is flawed, but by turning the spotlight on two women behaving badly, the filmmakers have attempted to upend the genre and for that they deserve some attention. Perhaps next time, Lynch and Weisz will find an outlet more worthy of their enormous gifts. Rating: C+ MPAA Rating: R for strong violence and sexuality, drug use and language |
| © 2008 by C. E. Murphy. All Rights Reserved. |