Shipwrecks are always bad omens, especially in cinema. Whether characters find themselves in unknown territory or amongst strange people, being lost at sea or lost on land is terrifying. Emily (Julia Goldani Telles) is on a quest to circumnavigate the globe alone, a daring decision that results in misfortune as she loses control of her ship and wakes up in a mysterious home with a man named Ismael (Demián Bichir).
With the normal fears a younger woman would have being in an unknown place with a man she doesn’t know, this anxiety fades into a relaxed relationship between the two. However, as Emily continues to try and radio for help from the authorities, her inability to get through causes her to question Ismael’s house rules and information. Beacon has the pieces to give its audience an intriguing thriller but Shih’s script struggles to make any headway towards anything deeper than a simple tall tale about isolation.
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Beacon has a hard time creating a distinguished tone. The first thirty to forty minutes or so have no sort of ominous nature or feel to it, despite its gloomy cinematography that would say otherwise. As a result, it makes the audience question exactly where the story is headed in its mood as it fails to create one early on. When some tension begins to unravel, it is too late to feel authentic and it feels offbeat. The film loses momentum in spots as we try to figure out whether the subject at the center of the film is Emily or Ismael, as scenes are filmed with changing perspectives. This makes the film feel like it is lacking a clear direction.
Emily and Ismael are living in the middle of nowhere with only the lighthouse as a means to communicate by radio (if the radio even works). As a result, most of the film is set in Ismael’s house. This creates an opportunity as a filmmaking to utilize minimum space to one’s advantage in order to create suspense and a “boxed in” feel. However, Shih isn’t strong enough in her direction to keep the audience’s attention with the minimal space she gives her characters. It makes the audience feel as if they are trapped inside unwillingly rather than trapped inside a film they do not want to leave.
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This movie brings in old folklore of creatures getting into the heads of sailors, upset that land was built on their underwater world. In images these creatures resemble evil mermaids that Ismael has pictures of everywhere in his house. Upon finding this, Emily tries to get to the bottom of his obsession with the creatures and whether there is any truth to his stories.
As stated before, the story takes a while to pick up and the folklore that could have been greatly utilized in the film feels like a side part of the plot that is never fully developed. This leaves the third act of the film feeling awkward and misdirected. Beacon has a premise that could have worked as a feature length film but the lack of built tension and underwhelming script left it a shipwreck in itself.
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