Barnes, D. (Director). (2011). Beastly. [Motion Picture]. United States: Sony Pictures.
Genre: Romance,
Self-image
Reading level/
interest age: 13+ movie rating, 15+ interest age
Plot summary:
Kyle is a typical, arrogant, and popular snob who gets off
on treating people badly. One day, Kyle gets the brilliant idea of pulling a
prank on a classmate named Kendra. She turns out to be a witch and curses him.
Kyle’s outward appearance now reflects his inner self. No doctor is able to
cure Kyle and he shuts himself up in his apartment with a blind tutor to help
him keep up with school. Another classmate named Lindy passes by his window
some weeks later. Lindy is attacked by a drug dealer and Kyle steps in to save
her. He decides to keep her in his apartment in an attempt to have her fall in
love with him. If Kyle cannot break his curse in the next few days, he will
remain outwardly ugly for the rest of his life. Even with Lindy there to tame
Kyle’s previous bad behavior, is there enough time to save him from the curse?
Reader’s annotation:
A new spin on the traditional story of Beauty and the Beast, Beastly will delight viewers. Follow the
story of Kyle, the hottest boy in school, as he falls from popularity and into
love with Lindy.
Information about the
author:
“A veteran of Ivy League Yale University and the University
of Southern California Film School, writer-cum-director Daniel Barnz spent
almost a decade circulating his original scripts among the studios. [He] culled
interest from a substantial roster of A-list talent including Jodie Foster and
Mel Gibson, but could never actually cross the line and get one of the scripts
produced. Barnz's fortunes shifted in late 2006, when his Phoebe in Wonderland
-- an offbeat drama about a troubled young girl drifting ever more deeply into
a fantasy world of her own design -- received a greenlight from executive
producers Chris Finazzo and Doug Dey, with Barnz himself attached to direct.
Released in 2008, it featured Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, and Patricia
Clarkson in the cast” (Southern, 2014).
Curriculum ties: N/A
Booktalking ideas:
1.
Do you think the Kyle might be too
overprotective?
2.
Do you think Lindy should have had a different
reaction to Kyle’s protectiveness towards her?
Critical evaluation:
The design chosen for Kyle’s transformation is interesting. Instead
of taking the traditional route of simply making him a beast, Kyle is depicted
as disfigured. The black lines that snake across his body act almost like
branches that move and grow depending on his inner ugliness. Viewers will pity
Kyle because though he is mean to others, his curse and the consequences
because of it are a brutal punishment. Perhaps the movie takes a stab at
humanity’s distain for unbeautiful things.
Overall, the tone of the movie is hard to pin down. Neither
overly dark nor light, viewers are left somewhere in the gray. Kyle and Lindy’s
romance is unremarkable and the movie comes off as somewhat dull. The director
seemed to try too hard to get a badly written screenplay off the ground. Beastly is an interesting take on the
traditional story but viewers would probably be more impressed with the Disney
version.
Why included:
Though not the best representation of this timeless classic,
teens might still enjoy this version. I wanted to include it in the blog
because different versions can be entertaining.
Reference:
Southern, N. (2014). Full
Biography. Retrieved August 25, 2014 from
http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/439730/Daniel-Barnz/biography
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