Beautiful (2009) Reviews

• Engaging, atmospheric twisted tale

  sioenroux2009-10-17

  Just want to write a quick note to combat the other comments on here a bit. First, this movie isn't TRYING to be "American Beauty" or "Donnie Darko" -- and it certainly isn't trying to be David Lynch. To compare this to any David Lynch film shows you don't understand Lynch at all. This is an atmospheric thriller. No, the plot isn't ridiculously tangled and doesn't have countless twists, like many Hollywood thrillers that seem to feel obligated to throw dozens of red herrings at the audience so that they feel sufficiently fishy when they leave the theater. But neither is this movie trying to be an over-the-top freakfest like a Lynch film. I love David Lynch's style and the effect his films have on me, but this is quite different. This movie was slow and calculated, with plenty of scenes to build atmosphere -- and thereby deepen the sense of character and environment. No, every scene does not advance the plot. Yes, you can tell most of what's going to happen in advance. But for a strange story about a demented youth for whom everything goes terribly wrong, I thought this was wonderful. All the actors are top-notch, and the cinematography is delightful. A more accurate frame of reference than the above-mentioned movies would be "Heavenly Creatures," Peter Jackson's tale of the disturbed fantasy life of two girls that explodes into violence. I felt shades of that story throughout "Beautiful." If you want a fast-moving, keep-you-guessing thriller, don't look here. You'll be disappointed. But if you want to see a nicely shot, atmospheric tale that slowly spins out of control, this is well worth your time.

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• A pretty uneven movie

  dschmeding2009-08-10

  "Beautiful" is one of those movies that can be described with style over substance. From the DVD Cover (which represents the opening scene of the movie) on you know the director is into stylish and kind of odd shots. At first I really had big hopes for this but problem with this kind of mysterious movies is that as soon as the mystery clears up and doesn't lead anywhere you are left with nothing. Exactly thats what I was left with after watching "Beautiful". The odd shots which seem quirky and fresh at first soon begin to annoy you because they just don't mean anything. You can basically see the final "twist" coming a mile away considering we are following a boy who is rather the strange outcast and his mother regularly mentioning that he is not living "in the real world". From here you get a mysterious detective story revolving around some abducted girls and a strange house with a lady constantly watching through the curtains. There are too many comparisons with cult movies like Donnie Darko (and scenes like the night views into the suburban windows and the score sure are close to it) or American Beauty which had an influence on the opening scene and the odd suburban setting. Anyway just because a movie steals visual gimmicks and obvious sound design from movies like these I don't see many similarities because the story has no grip and the storytelling is uneven and getting very stretched in the middle of the movie. The constant use of strange shots inter-cut with the plot gets a little annoying and could have been used a little more subtle. Anyway... biggest let-down like in many movies is the finale leaving too many loose ends especially about the boy and his family. Where the opening scene with the off-screen narration works fine the same element seems pretty stupid in the end. I guess its easy to make a "mysterious" movie but when the plot clears even if things are left unexplained to make the viewer think for himself... thats where a movie shows its substance. "Beautiful" left me with nothing, not caring about the characters and the unexplained parts of the story. So to compare the movie with movies like the fore-mentioned which left the viewer with many thoughts in his head is far off. Visually interesting but story-wise a disaster that has far too many lengthy moments.

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• Interesting, but not highly memorable

  Argemaluco2010-09-26

  I was interested in watching Beautiful because I generally like Australian cinema very much.As well as other countries, Australia tends to take the most popular genres from Hollywood, but with a different and particular taste which makes them seem like something new.And one of the formulas it best interprets is the "suburban thriller", as we can see on the excellent films Lantana and Alexandra's Project.Beautiful counted with some elements to be an addition to that group: an unresolved mystery, idyllic characters full of sinister secrets, and solid performances; but the screenplay has various fails, and even though the final result is interesting, it did not leave me completely satisfied. The dark side of the suburbs has been a fashionable topic since mid-20th century, and some filmmakers have used it with brilliant results.However, Beautiful repeats the most basic features from the sub-genus, and it ends up bringing a simultaneously confusing and a bit predictable story, where the "surprise ending" is truly unexpected...but not because it is particularly ingenious, but because it comes out of nowhere, at the same time it leads to the destiny I had been suspecting from some time before. Nevertheless, I liked this film, specially because of the performances.Sebastian Gregory brings a credible and detailed performance; I hope to see him in more movies.Tahyna Tozzi shows a good scenic presence and a facility to say pretty much with economy of expression.And the underrated Peta Wilson also made a competent work as a housewife. In conclusion, despite the fails from the screenplay, I found Beautiful to be interesting and entertaining, but not very memorable.Nevertheless, I think it deserves a recommendation, mainly because of the performances and the good atmosphere achieved by director Dean O'Flaherty.

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• Donnie Dumbo

  ptb-82009-03-04

  Where do I start? Well, basically, see this film for free because you will want a refund otherwise. Written and Directed by some copycat wannabee film maker called Dean OFlaherty we have a very poor and deliberately convoluted remake of the collision between DONNIE DARKO and BLUE VELVET, or of you prefer TWIN PEAKS and DISTURBIA.. This mashed potato with bloodstains is called BEAUTIFUL. The poster even copies LOLITA. The whole result is just crap. A waste of resources, actors and your time and their talent. It is like some self obsessed actor's studio thesping exercise that should never be filmed. Again we have some 30 something auteur who simply takes other film maker's ideas and images copies them onto film in his suburb, incredibly and unfortunately Australian film funding bodies put public money into it and we get another pointless ugly cruel stupid and wasteful film that will be forgotten by winter. BEAUTIFUL is an insult to film goers (tickets cost $16 in Australian multiplexes) and an irritating waste of talent and resources. it is not awful-fun like LIQUID BRIDGE or a guilty pleasure, it is simply infuriating plagiarism of more interesting themes that got onto a movie screen in the last 20 years. So ridiculous is the so called plot that a narrator has to explain it all in the misty wrap-up. Avoid. You will not be feeling too beautiful yourself otherwise. It even goes for a NATURAL BORN KILLERS newsreel with HOSTEL tool waving moment. Just terrible.

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• Uneven and All over the Place!!!

  saadgkhan2011-01-10

  BEAUTIFUL – TRASH IT ( C+ ) The concept of the movie is intriguing and suspenseful but when it ended, everything fell flat on earth. The movie at least achieved in creating the suspense though the ending was really confusing. In the end bringing the whole Satan thing seems really immature. the whole connection between the Trio Killing Girls was really Childish. Sebastian Gregory was the only thing worth memorable in the movie. From Accidents Happens to Acolytes and now Beautiful. He has proved himself to be a respectable teen actor. I would love to see him in Hollywood. Tahyna Tozzi looked Hot in Red Swim Suit. Overall, the movie is Uneven and all over the place so simply Trash It!

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