Movie Review: Beckett Is A Dizzying Win For Netflix
Somebody hug Beckett for me! PLEASE! The Ferdinando Cito Filomarino’s new thriller feels more like psychosis than psychological, but that only makes viewers gravitate more to its lead: John David Washington as Beckett. Quickly, becoming a notable, Hollywood action star, the actor anchors the film with his raw emotionality and physicality; becoming a hero that moves and feels exactly like us regular folks.
I love action stars that are absolutely human. The ones that don’t know a single thing about weapons or the various forms of self-defense techniques, but use their heart and tenacity as their main guide, in body and soul, to unpack their enemies. While in Tenet he played a “spy-agent” of sorts, in Beckett, Washington is simply a tourist with his girlfriend in Greece. Yet, what unites both roles is Washington’s essential wonder. He approaches his characters as if they were looking at their lives through a glass cup; only to be shattered when they realized they were never seeing things, naturally, for themselves. Life through a window pane is not, exactly, the clearest vision, and, for Filmarino, the window pane is surreality.
As death begins to surround Beckett with its randomness, viciousness, and inexplicability, he becomes a man on the run, and, like him, you have no idea why. The core mystery of this film is intriguing, but, at times, tiring, for the simple fact that you just want to know why everything is getting so big and sporadic for a guy, that a few days ago, was eating Greek food and visiting ancient ruins with the love of his life. Yet, perhaps, that is the point of this film, especially as it uses beautiful shots of landscapes to contrast grim pictures of political chaos. The movie questions if a world of uncertainty, can every truly be a reality or, at least, a right motive to be chased and endangered: two things that are the essence of Beckett.
While this film is 100% entertaining, it is not always the clearest in plot and story. Yet, if you are watching at home, does that matter? Instead, its gorgeous cinematic scopes, high-octane chases, and Washington’s performance as an everyman going from an emotional breakdown to a breakthrough, makes the film a WORTHY watch. At its core, Filomarino fascinatingly combines how the heartbreak and guilt inside someone can stir, even more, the chaos building around them. At the very least, Beckett will immerse you in its world, to break from yours, even if you have no idea about its mechanics. Beckett Comes Out August 13 on Netflix.
