“Beauty”: Film Review

“Beauty”: Film Review

The protagonist of a new Netflix movie written by Lena White, about beauty, is mysterious. Your facial expressions are not a compass for your feelings. His eyes remain wide open, his lips parted forever. Tonal variations are also sparse: Grace Marie Bradley, the actress who plays the title character, delivers her lines in an enticing high-pitched whisper. It’s hard to say how useful this whole secret is, which makes it hard to raise the occasional eyebrow, amused smile, or a tear.

Asking: Who is a beauty? Is she just a shelter girl being adorned for the stars by her domineering parents? Young adult navigating the boundaries of a secret relationship with his girlfriend? A talented singer who is solely interested in your musical talent?

about beauty

Final result

The dreamer and the mysterious are to blame.

Issue date: Wednesday, June 29 (Netflix)
Issue: Nice Nash, Giancarlo Esposito, Sharon Stone, Elise Shannon, Grace Marie Bradley, Kyle Barry, Michael Ward
Director: andres dosunmu
Screenwriter: white lena

R rating, 1 hour and 35 minutes

And then: what is about beauty? Is this a portrait of a young woman balancing family, love and career? An allegory about the dangers of the parasitic music industry? Or a commentary on fame and how it changes beauty and everyone around you?

Stylized Director Andrew Dosunmu (George’s mother, Where is Kira?, a restless city), Beauty, Like his hero, he is looking for himself and his purpose. The film extensively tells the story of a young singer, just steps from the spotlight. When an overzealous record executive (Sharon Stone) gets a lucrative contract, Beauty must seriously consider whether she’s ready to become a star. The glory, even her expectation, will change the already fragile dynamics of her island world.

Your parents take opposite positions. Her mother (Sharp Nice Nash), a singer who has never come out commercially, wants to protect her daughter from the thirsty industry. Look at the beauty these whites are just looking for the next target they don’t care about. “You will be a fantasy,” he tells his daughter. The father (cut by Giancarlo Esposito) sees beauty as a source of income, a precious asset into which he pours resources. His brothers Abel (Kyle Barry) and Cain (Michael Ward) trust him to do what’s best for the family. It’s Beauty’s girlfriend, Jasmine (Aleyse Shannon), who worries our hero the most. He warns the naive Shanteus about the people who appreciate him and the chasm that will inevitably open up between them if the beauty signs this contract.

about beauty He tries to do a lot with this simple story, but he has a hard time executing it. Many, there has been a study of a young girl at the height of her fame. Characters, especially cute ones, are sketchy sketches, their interactions predictable and external. They are best suited for allegory, but about beauty Nor is it entirely. The film contains familiar stories about young black artists and their twisted, often fatal, relationships with the music industry; Whitney Houston is the most obvious comparison, but there are also hints of Michael Jackson. But ultimately, it’s a film of impressions and not a bigger point or a more focused thesis.

Instead of a linear line, about beauty It offers beautiful and relaxing vignettes: aesthetically pleasing and engaging episodes, without ideas but full of vibes. Dosunmu’s style is distinguished by a muted color palette, dictated by the orange-red glow of the sunset, and close-ups of the beauty’s unchanging face. The scene bounces in the form of silent flash-forwards (and sometimes flashbacks) and images from the protagonist’s favorite artists (Donna Summers, Debbie Clark) add to the film’s unreal and ethereal quality.

The workday scenario casts this boom in a mixed light. What are they trying to divert our attention from? Look at them and the question arises more: what is a beauty story? Why is your character development so shallow? And the weirdest thing, why don’t we hear a single note over the music in the star’s own drama?

Beauty signs a contract with Colony Records, leading to a series of new problems between her and her family. He moves to an uncertain city to live with Jasmine, and this chapter of the couple’s lives burns like the flashes of a music video. The moments intertwine: hugs in bed and teasing disappear in studio rehearsals; City tours give way to an all-star manager who teaches how to avoid questions about race, relationships and sexuality.

As Beauty begins to put more pressure on her record company, the film hints at a catastrophic event on the horizon. But he never comes; about beauty It does not obey any kind of spectacular climax. The devastating changes that were shown on the telegraph at the beginning of the film are both subtle and frightening. Beauty becomes more confident in herself, which helps her gain control of her life and stand up for her father. But he was also more oblivious to Jasmine and her family. Bradley’s brilliant performance sheds light on the direction of the stars’ development.

Praise is a harmful and horrible circumstance about beautyBut the film does not offer a convincing analysis or observation of this phenomenon. It irritates us and offers us the horrors of the parasitic industry to make us homesick. If Belle’s character had been more defined, it could have bridged the gap the film clearly struggles to bridge between her and her more formal impressionistic ambitions. How it is, about beauty Feeling overwhelmed, he treats his hero Mercury as his mother feared: like a fantasy.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

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