Rare Beasts is a British drama/romance film written and directed by Billie Piper who also stars in it.
Rare Beasts Plot
Rare Beasts is about Mandy played by Billie Piper, who is a single mother as she tries to find love. Mandy falls in love with Pete played by Leo Bill, who is not an ideal guy. Pete is a guy who has rage issues and he doesn’t feel right for Mandy because of his views and also they are completely different from each other.
Rare Beasts Cast
- Billie Piper as Mandy
- Leo Bill as Pete
- David Thewlis as Vic
- Lily James as Cressida
- Kerry Fox as Marion
- Toby Woolf as Larch
- Jonjo O’Neill as Dougie
- Antonia Campbell-Hughes as Cathy
- Montserrat Lombard as Val
- Mariah Gale as Vanessa
- Michael Elwyn as Bertie
Rare Beasts Movie Review
Rare Beasts is a film about a woman discovering herself, trying to find love and all along trying to live her life the way she desires. Mandy is a nihilist woman but she has to work through her family, her kid who is not stable and through her job.
She works at a misogynist place where she is unable to unleash her full potential because she isn’t given the opportunity. Her family isn’t helpful either. Her parent’s relationship with her and between themselves is dysfunctional, making it even more difficult for her to take care of her son.
Rare Beasts Movie: Ill-matched Relationship
Pete is the type of guy who does not like change. He does not want to bend himself for others even if that other is his girlfriend and with whom he is in love. His narrow mindedness causes a lot of fights and arguments between him and Mandy. He wants to marry someone because it’s the norm but does not want to do anything that a relationship or a marriage demands so it can work. The only thing that Pete is good for is that he is somewhat compatible with Mandy’s son and they both like each other.
Pete and Mandy’s relationship is as toxic as it could be. Pete has his own issues with self-confidence. Pete’s family is dysfunctional as well, he is undermined by his parents and sibling and it is also seen in his behaviour. He is never really respectful towards Mandy and his behaviour towards her shows that he is not very different from his family.
Rare Beasts: Self-discovery?
Mandy tries to get her life together mainly by trying to find the right guy for her but her nihilist ideology and way of living contradicts it. Yeah, she needs to take care of her son, so the way and idea of nihilism cannot be completely embraced as someone else depend on her for their survival.
Rare Beasts is a quirky film, it is a movie that tries to be edgy and succeeds at times but most times makes you wonder if it’s just trying too hard to be edgy. The approach that the film takes, wants to make the viewers think that the movie is random and the scenes are unpredictable but it just comes off as try-hard. The plot of the film is not unpredictable but then again there is not much to the plot other than Mandy contemplating whether she wants to be with Pete and if he is the right guy.
Mandy is trying to find herself, the movie feels as if it is about her self discovery but it also comes off as she knows what she wants but has fallen in love with someone who is not her ideal guy and is finding out if it is worth it.
Rare Beasts: Bleak and Gloomy
The movie has funny moments, but as they go on, it just doesn’t feel funny. The comedic parts are overshadowed by the bleakness as the movie goes on. The uncomfortable scene in the movie just gets more uncomfortable as they play out. The awkward conversation between Mandy and Pete, their outbursts and bickering and yelling is chaotic. At least the acting holdups, as unclear and messy as the writing and vision might be.
Rare Beasts Movie Critical Reception
The film has a rating of 65% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 46 reviews and an average rating of 5.6/10 on IMDb.
The Movie Culture Synopsis
Rare Beasts tries to tackle some serious issues but falls short in doing so. Billie Piper’s and Leo Bill’s acting is entertaining, Billie portrays Mandy as being annoyed at all times and Bill plays the role of being an a-hole really good.
The movie has pretty scenes and surroundings, the ambience is mesmerizing to an extent but only in a few scenes. The movie takes an approach towards feminism but fails to deliver and it doesn’t really work as to what is it trying to say and leaves you unsatisfied.
