As someone who writes about film and TV you would think that I would try and keep on top of all the upcoming films but I really don’t. Part of the reason is because I want to try and go into a movie with no prior expectations or pre-conceptions, the other (somewhat larger) part is that I’m a little lazy and this blogging malarkey is hard work lol. Released on the 13th August, all I knew about Netflix’s new movie, Beckett, is that it starred John David Washington and Alicia Vikander.

Solid start, in my opinion.

Whilst vacationing in Greece, young lovebirds Beckett (John David Washington) and April (Alicia Vikander) get word of a large rally that will be taking place in the square outside their Athens hotel. Keen to avoid the political unrest, they decide to skip their sightseeing around the city and head to the picturesque mountains instead. After a hike around some ancient ruins and an extended dinner, it’s late at night before they head to their new accommodation and Beckett falls asleep at the wheel and drives them off the mountain road and into the wall of an old house. Dazed and confused, Beckett sees the figures of a woman and young boy before they quickly disappear into the shadows and his focus shifts to April’s body which had been thrown from the car.

Beckett wakes up in hospital the following day with a broken arm and an almost overwhelming sense of guilt and heartbreak. After filing a report with the local police, he takes a walk down to the site of the accident, seemingly with the intention of taking his own life. The film then takes a random and unexpected turn, with a mysterious blonde woman and a police officer drawing their guns on him. What follows is a desperate journey across the country to reach safety of the US Embassy and the gradual unravelling on a political conspiracy that Beckett had unwittingly, and quite literally, crashed into.

Okay, now this is going to sound a little weird but I was getting some serious The Shining vibes throughout the entire film and I mean that as both a compliment and a criticism.

To say that Beckett is a slow burner is something of an understatement, and iIf you’ve read my review of the Kubrick classic then you will already know that I was not a fan, even going so far as to state the phrase “bored stiff” and the same can be said for Beckett. Although I liked the fact that they didn’t try to force an ‘action hero’ persona in their titular character, and whilst Washington’s performance was a rather nuanced and powerful one, for me, the story unfolded far too slowly and ended with more of a whimper than a bang. But as I said in my The Shining review, maybe I am not quite as attune to all the subtleties and art of storytelling to properly appreciate director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino’s work.

It’s not all bad though, as I said, my comparison to Kubrick’s film was also meant as something of a compliment. The atmosphere created by the choice of cinematography and rather ominous musical score would not have been out of place at the Overlook Hotel, and Beckett’s psychological journey through grief and guilt was somewhat reminiscent to Jack Torrence’s descent into madness, albeit with much less disastrous consequences.

Overall, this is the kind of film that is marmite. Some will love it and be able to put a strong and coherent argument forward to justify their opinions and others (myself included) will hate it but not really be able to put a solid finger on the reason why. Ultimately, whilst I didn’t enjoy this film at all, I do recommend you guys give it a go – just to see if you agree with my thoughts or if you think I’m talking out of my ass.

Beckett is now available to stream on Netflix.