Beckett movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE: Beckett

This dramatic thriller airs globally on Netflix on August 13, 2021

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 48 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

While vacationing in Greece, American tourist Beckett (John David Washington) becomes the target of a manhunt after a devastating car accident. Forced to run for his life and desperate to get across the country to the American embassy to clear his name, tensions escalate as the authorities close in, political unrest mounts, and Beckett falls even deeper into a dangerous web of conspiracy. This is the English language debut feature film by Italian director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino.

THINGS I LIKED:

I adore John David Washington in every movie he does. Serious acting chops clearly run in his blood, as he’s the son of Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington. I thought John David was brilliant in Blackkklansman and Malcolm & Marie. About this movie, John David Washington stated, “You don’t know what a person is capable of when they’re staring death in the face. The will to survive gives you superhuman strength in some ways. So, I found myself admiring what Beckett does to survive, but also realizing that he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t do the right thing.” With the exception of two very steep jumps, John David did all of his own stunts. He tried not to do a lot of running before filming and even gained weight so he could really look like an ordinary guy. He gave a shout-out to Krispy Kreme for helping him prepare.
I also really love Alicia Vikander and thought she looked absolutely amazing in Tomb Raider. She’s currently starring in THE GREEN KNIGHT in theaters now.
Vicky Krieps is always mesmerizing to watch and has such a great, European look. Another one of her movies is currently in theaters called OLD by M. Night Shyamalan. I loved her in Phantom Thread.
We get to go to Greece in the movie! I loved seeing the young couple visit what looked like Delphi in Greece. I went there a few hot summers ago, so it wasn’t beautiful and green like what we see in the movie. I highly recommend visiting Greece! We had such a fantastic trip and absolutely loved the history and food. What surprised me was the unbelievable amount of graffiti all over everything in Athens. The movie shows that very clearly. It saddened me to see such an ancient, important city reduced to that. Other parts of Greece where we traveled were way nicer. Meteora, for example, is amazing and breathtaking. The director explained that he chose Greece as the setting for the story because it’s a country that has been through political and economic turmoil, perfect for a political conspiracy. The people there embrace their ability to speak up through protest. Greece also offers a diverse landscape from oceans and rivers, dramatic canyons, and a very dense urban city. They filmed no more than two days in a row in the same place.
Fun Fact: The movie was originally titled “Born to be Murdered” but was changed when Netflix purchased the distribution rights.
Ferdinando Cito Filomarino stated, “The inspiration for Beckett came from a multitude of manhunt stories in cinema and literature where these great stakes are all placed o the shoulders of a single character. In creating this story, I thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if that archetypal hero was just an ordinary guy. So, the premise revolved around the question: How does an ordinary man manage in an extreme situation like this?”
Kevin A. Rice wrote the screenplay, as well as produced the film.
I love how, just when you think the protagonist is safe, things ramp up even more.
You can relate to the protagonist because he’s not a superhero. We get to imagine how we would have reacted to certain situations. In fact, while we watched the movie, my husband and I kept yelling at the screen to tell him what we thought he should do. That’s engaging filmmaking.
Powerful ending, although the camera lingered a little too long.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Despite the protagonist constantly being on the run, many of the scenes are surprisingly slow-paced. It finally picks up in Act 3.
Some viewers won’t appreciate the political aspects of the film.
There are a few times when the protagonist really shouldn’t have survived a particular moment or stunt. Even John David Washington’s character states, “I shouldn’t have lived.”
There are some rough edits and transitions.
It’s unclear what the real story with the embassy is. Is it just me?