For the first hour, writer and director Michael Pearce’s debut feature is a gripping psychological drama about a young woman with a chequered past who rebels against her controlling family by running off with a man from the wrong side of the tracks. Then, for the last forty minutes, it disintegrates into a series of frustrating and patience-sapping false endings which force us to figure out who is the victim and who is the titular beast. So much promise, so much disappointment.

Backed with a brooding score by Jim Williams (Raw) and stark cinematography by Benjamin Kračun (For Those In Pearl) which invert Jersey’s postcard image of country lanes and coastal paths into a claustrophobic backwater of secrets, lies and violence, we are hooked from the outset by the unlikely relationship between the stuck-in-a-rut Moll (Jessie Buckley) and the carefree outsider Pascal (Johnny Flynn). A relationship which is tested to breaking point when both are suspected of involvement in a number of recent murders.

Secrets are unearthed, demons are purged and all roads lead to a gripping finale. Then it goes south quicker than an ousted Unionist MP to the unelected House of Lords. Which is no slight on the cast, particularly Buckley and Flynn, who are excellent throughout. As is Geraldine James as Moll’s domineering mother Hilary who makes the most of a rather one-dimensional character. It’s just that the last forty minutes limp home at a glacial pace as the film loses focus, intrigue and believability.

Director: Michael Pearce
Writer: Michael Pearce
Stars: Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, Geraldine James
Peter Callaghan
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