Beats
Ten Second Review: An interesting film with lots of *ahem* highs and some great storytelling. Entrancing at points and a little stale at others, it will probably appeal most to those who already love the rave scene.
I always wondered if the raves we went to as teens were as cinematic as they felt. When I got a chance to see a cinematic depiction of the rave scene I thought I might finally have an answer to my question. The short answer is, “yeah, pretty much”. After seeing 2018’s Yardie, I was excited to see another (hopefully) authentic take on a culture based around music, or at least a “succession of repetitive beats”. What I got was a fairly predictable storyline with a third act that took me deep back in to the memories of raves we used to go to. The music, the crowd, the lights; it was about as dizzying to watch as it used to feel while being there.
The film focuses on the relationship between two main characters, Johnno (Cristian Ortega) and Spanner (Lorn MacDonald). When Spanner discovers that Johnno will be moving away, he’s determined to have one last incredible night out. When the pair discover that the local rave radio station is having the “biggest party of the year”, Spanner makes it his mission to get them both to the event of a life time.
The film does some things really well and the highlights are pretty high! The problem is some of its more drab moments. At its core, its a coming of age story of two best mates and the film is full of themes of finding courage, brains, your heart and your home. To call it a Wizard of Oz for the rave generation might be a bit crude, mostly because Wizard of Oz is the Wizard of Oz for the rave generation.
The first half of the film seems to have a little trouble getting off the ground and, on reflection, it only really serves to flesh out the characters as there doesn’t seem to be any great payoffs from what it seems to be setting up.
The main characters are set up quite well and the tone and era of the whole story feels very well defined. Rather like the music of the era, the movie doesn’t resist pounding the same beats again and again to make sure you’ve heard them. This is a doubled edged sword of having a good understanding of the situation and feeling ever so slightly bored by the repetitive story telling. What this culminates in is a truly experimental and interesting scene depicting drug use and rave culture. It is easily the best thing about the film and definitely worth a watch on a big screen if you can. You finish the scene and watch how the movie plays out through the characters come down feeling almost as though you took a small amount of whatever they had.
Beats is interesting and I imagine for the most part audiences will leave smiling. It’s not going to change the world and I doubt it will move mountains in anyway shape or form, but, as a fairly engaging look at the rave culture of 90s Scotland, it is quite enjoyable. Lorn MacDonald deserves great credit for some excellent acting as “spanner” and really makes the film. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure whether this is a film to wait for on TV or to go an see in the cinema. The rave scene would definitely be better in the theatre but I’m not sure that warrants paying a full ticket price. If you’re looking for a break from big budget superheroes and franchise films, this will definitely plug that hole.
Beats will be released in the UK on the 17th of May
