"Becky" isn't your average genre flick. Yes, it does have some occasionally over the top violent scenes, but where other films would go for either the heartstrings, terror, vengeance or justice - "Becky" goes a little further into the abyss.
Kevin James' Dominick is undoubtedly, absolutely, psychotically evil, just like the hateful rhetoric he spouts throughout the film. But the film seems to ask - how much innocence, morality and family is one willing to sacrifice in order to defeat evil? How do we, as many have said, "be careful when fighting monsters, that you do not become one yourself"?
Lulu Wilson's "Becky" is the answer to that question. When people are pushed to their limits, when their family and fibre of their very being are pushed into a corner - good people fight back.
"Becky" is a powerful, grotesque, nail-biting thriller that has an edge over a lot of other films. With a completely unsettling, unpredictable and taut script, and the juxtaposition of the characters Becky and Dominick, it has a sharper edge than similar thrillers. As well, James' chameleon like performance, (and complete 180 from his usual fare), is a tour de force of villainy. I haven't seen a character so skin-crawlingly removed from empathy in a long time, and it's a credit to his skill and the skill of the director that James' performance is pitch perfect - he's never over the top, and he's never too quiet. His performance is quietly intense and utterly disturbing. I never thought I'd mention the Oscars and Kevin James... but 2020 has proven nothing is out of the question. Wilson, too, as the eponymous Becky, is tasked with a brutal, exhausting performance that requires a lot of skill someone twice her age would have trouble with. She knocks it out of the park. The supporting cast, as well, featuring Joel McHale, Robert Mailet and rising Canadian star Amanda Brugel, help round out and give depth and humanity to a film that, while largely devoid of such things, needs them as a strong foundation.
I wouldn't recommend this film to everyone - it's grotesquely violent, utterly disturbing and shocking - but it's a worthwhile, challenging and riveting thriller, with some of the best performances of the year, and James' best of his career so far.
Kevin James' Dominick is undoubtedly, absolutely, psychotically evil, just like the hateful rhetoric he spouts throughout the film. But the film seems to ask - how much innocence, morality and family is one willing to sacrifice in order to defeat evil? How do we, as many have said, "be careful when fighting monsters, that you do not become one yourself"?
Lulu Wilson's "Becky" is the answer to that question. When people are pushed to their limits, when their family and fibre of their very being are pushed into a corner - good people fight back.
"Becky" is a powerful, grotesque, nail-biting thriller that has an edge over a lot of other films. With a completely unsettling, unpredictable and taut script, and the juxtaposition of the characters Becky and Dominick, it has a sharper edge than similar thrillers. As well, James' chameleon like performance, (and complete 180 from his usual fare), is a tour de force of villainy. I haven't seen a character so skin-crawlingly removed from empathy in a long time, and it's a credit to his skill and the skill of the director that James' performance is pitch perfect - he's never over the top, and he's never too quiet. His performance is quietly intense and utterly disturbing. I never thought I'd mention the Oscars and Kevin James... but 2020 has proven nothing is out of the question. Wilson, too, as the eponymous Becky, is tasked with a brutal, exhausting performance that requires a lot of skill someone twice her age would have trouble with. She knocks it out of the park. The supporting cast, as well, featuring Joel McHale, Robert Mailet and rising Canadian star Amanda Brugel, help round out and give depth and humanity to a film that, while largely devoid of such things, needs them as a strong foundation.
I wouldn't recommend this film to everyone - it's grotesquely violent, utterly disturbing and shocking - but it's a worthwhile, challenging and riveting thriller, with some of the best performances of the year, and James' best of his career so far.