Beauty (2011)

Excellent adaptation.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Shocking, alarming and scary! Anyone and I do mean anyone that likes this films. Has some hardcore issues they need to deal with! This is not a gay movie and should not be considered a movie at all. It is a director trying to make a point at a culture that obviously doesn't mind out right violence. This is the worst kind of movie for gay people. We are not rapist, we do not beat and choke someone to the point paralyzingly them. I HATE HATE, this movie so much it's absolutely eating me up inside. With out going too deep, I have been raped and oh my God, does it change you as a human. the rest of your life is a mental struggle. The lead character is a sad sad, slow moving married man. Not to mention a liar, a homophobe and a criminal, who somehow gets it in his head that its fine to almost kill his best friend's son, because he doesn't have the balls to leave his wife. If NetFlix doesn't remove this movie from its selection, I will need to cancel my membership. Please for the love of God, do not glamorize this movie, it is not artist, it is not a study on human culture....it is the worst thing for the gay male community. I repeat, ask your providers to not carry this film!!

Oliver Hermanus wonderfully crafted "Beauty" was South Africa's submission to the Academy Awards as well as 2011 Un Certain Regard Cannes Film Festival Nominee and a Cannes award winner. This is a tale of repressed turmoil that slowly creep ups to the viewer. A very capable Deon Lotz plays François in an excellent performance filled with subtle anger, rage, jealousy and obsession. These feeling progressively take their toll on the unsuspecting Christian, brilliantly portrayed by Charlie Keegan with a devastating innocence and magnetic charm that will keep audiences disturbed long after experiencing this film. Family man Francois van Heerden is a haven of many secrets. Secrets that deteriorate as well as rot the insides. In his endurance of life's test and family matters, François is able to keep an expected straight face in his daily dealings as he slowly asphyxiates for attention from his daughter's mate Christian. Christian, on the other hand, not only regards Francois as an elderly figure worthy of respect due to friendship ties with his father but refers to him as "uncle", an adoptive role soon to be tested by an ever raging need to relate in highly improbable ways unbeknown to an oblivious Christian . However, we get the sense that Christian honestly looked up to Francois as an additional father figure source. The platonic dealings slowly eats away at Francois as he repeatedly insists Christian refer to him by his name in order to detract from the connecting familiar upbringing which seems to awkwardly remind Francois to hold back on his planned intentions. Effective scheming leads to the an extremely troubling conclusion based on a number of deliberate choices and sequential actions meant to pander to the vile objectives to be executed. Upon the enforcement of his plans, François realizes the results are now irreversible. The damage is done and permanent. The post mutilating events leads to reparations that will ultimately render Francois unrepentant and numb to an uneven arrangement. The brilliance of this story falls within the mix bag of emotions this film emits. The film is beautifully haunting as it unfolds, yet extremely ugly. "Beauty" is a cinematic gem worthy of attention because it will illicit a variety of strong and deep long lasting reactions. It will encourage dialogue with other viewers immediately after watching regarding its many unanswered questions of what could have been.

It could have been a beautiful film. Production and acting are professional, and outdoors shots are clear, bright, colorful and vivid. The indoors scenes, except for the wedding reception at the beginning, however, are lifeless, dull and under-lit. The major shortcomings are the dialogs, which are drawn out and most of the time contribute little to the flow of the story, and excessive length of silence that does not foster any development of emotional or narrative progress. The script writer appears incompetent in that regard. Any good dramas would not let any valuable seconds go to waste. The orgy in the farm house is absolutely disgusting even to gays. And the fact that the main character can get away with impunity after committing rape serves to fuel even more misunderstanding by straights that gays have lower moral standards. I can't help wondering if the director is a homophobe. The only redeeming factor of this movie is Charlie Keegan playing the rape victim Christian, whose presence is totally engaging and lights up the screen in every scene. He is the reason I give this movie a rating of 4 rather than 1.

As with all things in life, not all people will like the same thing, and even though I tend to go for the more provocative/controversial types of movies, this one is a true shocker.From a cinematography, script, acting, etc. viewpoint this is not bad at all, but what does upset me, is that this is sold as a "suppressed" homosexual man in the context of conservative white Afrikaner culture. But after watching this, it is glaringly obvious that the main character is clearly a case study in severely disturbed/pathological behaviour. Lots of people suppress their homosexuality, but how likely is it that they will resort to stalking, obsessing, and RAPE, with maybe an hint of paedophilia (Christian could have been his SON)? And what's with the farmers orgy? I really don't want to sound naive, but as Afrikaner, this is so implausible that it is almost comical. Free State farmers, sitting around for a slap and tickle one afternoon? HUH?? We have enough problems in the Afrikaner community (especially in rural farming communities as depicted in the movie) with gay people being judged as being child molesters and godless deviants, and this movie sure as hell does not help to enlighten anyone. And to make it even worse, we are led to believe that after all the drama, everything just settles down and no word is ever spoken about it ever again? Not exactly a movie with a social conscience.