Beasts of The Southern Wild: 2013 Best Picture Nominee

Posted by Charmaine Blake on Feb 11th, 2013 in Drama, Oscar Buzz | 0 comments

Beasts of The Southern Wild: 2013 Best Picture Nominee

Beasts of The Southern Wild is a beautiful story about a six year old named Hushpuppy played by Quvenzhane Wallis,the youngest Best Actress nominee for the 2013 Academy Awards. This new drama is set in a forgotten bayou community, separated from the rest of the world. It is in this community that Hushpuppy lives, a girl who lives her young years with amazing optimism and extraordinary imagination. This little ball of fire is however on the brink of orphanhood but she still sticks to her understanding that the world has a natural balance with the universe until a terrible storm changes her mind. She struggles to put back together the structure of her world to save her father and their home. A young heroine who must learn to survive catastrophes that is larger than her. Beasts of the Southern Wild also stars Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Gina Montana and is directed by Benh Zeitlin. Check out the review below on why this movie deserves a chance in this year’s Oscars.

“Beasts of The Southern Wild: A Moving Film Makes It Way Up To The Oscars

“Beasts of the Southern Wild” is sheer poetry on screen: an explosion of joy in the midst of startling squalor and one of the most visceral, original films to come along in a while.

The story of a little girl named Hushpuppy (Quvenzhane Wallis) living on a remote, primal strip of eroding land in the southernmost reaches of the Louisiana bayou is so ambitious and so accomplished, it’s amazing that it’s only the first feature film from director Benh Zeitlin. Working from a script he co-wrote with longtime friend Lucy Alibar, based on her play, Zeitlin deftly mixes a sense of childhood wonder with the harsh realities of the adult world.

His film is at once dreamlike and brutal (the gorgeous work of cinematographer Ben Richardson), ethereal yet powerfully emotional. Fight it all you like, but this movie will get to you by the end. And he’s coaxed some surprisingly strong performances from a couple of inexperienced actors he had the daring to place front-and-center.

Wallis, who was only 6 when shooting began, has a fierce presence beyond her years with her wild hair and bright eyes, but also a plucky, girlish sweetness. This is Hushpuppy’s fairy tale but she’s no damsel in distress, which is clear from the first moment we see her.

Hushpuppy’s mother left long ago; now she and her ailing, alcoholic father, Wink (Dwight Henry), are living together on the narrow and ruggedly beautiful Isle de Jean Charles, known affectionately by the rag-tag locals in the film as “The Bathtub.” As her father becomes consumed by poor health and drink — and with a damaging storm on the way — she must figure out how to survive on her own.

Even before these pressing problems arose, though, Wink wasn’t exactly the most traditional father. Living side-by-side in separate trailers propped up in makeshift fashion, the two are more like next-door neighbors who pal around and share whatever dinner they can scrounge up. At best, Hushpuppy’s daddy is neglectful; at worst, he disappears for days. Still, you know he loves his daughter and — when he’s around — he teaches her to be strong and tries to protect her in his own feeble, erratic way.”

You can read the rest of the review at Associated Press
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Charmaine Blake loves movies, musical theater listening to music and taking pictures of anything that she finds interesting. She is a voracious reader and writer, and enjoys her time writing for New Movie Launches. Charmaine loves spending time with her pets and currently has a Siberian Husky, a toy poodle and a cat.