Institute History
Description
An ironic and very funny take on a familiar genre, Beautiful Creatures is a fabulous fun ride that showcases the exceptional talents of its cast and creators. Although it's not completely unknown these days to make a female the protagonist in a thriller, Bill Eagles's satiric riff on the storytelling conventions of films about the villainous milieu of British gangsters and corrupt cops produces a spirited, at times outrageous, and genuinely delightful contemporary romp.
The extraordinary Rachel Weisz heads a perfect cast of generally unsavory characters, whose lives cross when Petula (Weisz) is rescued from a brutal beating at the hands of her thug boyfriend by Dorothy (Susan Lynch), a woman whose own life is in absolute chaos as the result of an abusive, junkie male companion. When faced with the realization that her good deed will likely not go unpunished, Dorothy and the dim-witted Petula must figure out what to do with the now-dead body of the boyfriend and how to escape the more-than-likely retaliation by his criminal-kingpin brother. Add the increasingly malevolent pursuit of Dorothy by her ex-boyfriend, the attentions of a lascivious detective, and the elusive prize of a several-million-pound "ransom," and Beautiful Creatures evolves into a terrific mix of tones and talents that thoroughly reinvigorates the traditional elements of this genre story.
Eagles walks a smartly conceived line between spoofing women's roles and playfully adapting them to contemporary sensibilities. With a mélange of wit and excess, Beautiful Creatures takes a sexy and scintillating look at why it's no longer a man's world.