If anything is apparent after watching Roxy Shih’s (List of a Lifetime) newest feature, it must be that she is a fan of Robert Eggers’s The Lighthouse as Beacon feels like an eerily possible sequel/prequel to said movie. There’s a different style of filming, but the script penned by Julio Rojas (7:20 Once a Week) certainly has that vibe and feel to the film. While there is a shipwrecked passenger getting stranded with a lighthouse keeper, the isolation, chaos, and mysterious happenings all certainly point to something more intriguing than just another stranded-with-a-stranger film. However, there are a few moments that make the audience long for something more cynical and disturbing to occur, but something just more damning and thrilling than the eventual end that comes to fruition. Beacon certainly keeps the intrigue alive, but the ending leaves a little bit to be desired. However, the performances from the two leads certainly more than makeup for any shortcomings.
Julia Goldani Telles as Emily in BEACON. Photo courtesy of AKA Productions/Tribeca Film Festival.
The film focuses on Emily (Julia Goldani Telles) when she gets shipwrecked off the coast of South America. Terrified at first waking up in a foreign place, she discovers Ismael (Demián Bichir), who is the lighthouse keeper who brought her in to ensure her safety and health. While Emily is on edge and refuses to believe that Ismael isn’t up to something, she has no choice but to trust him. But as time goes on, things end up getting more tense as Emily starts trusting her instincts and realizes that Ismael may not entirely be the person he describes himself to be.
Demián Bichir as Ismael in BEACON. Photo courtesy of AKA Productions/Tribeca Film Festival.
Aside from the tense situation that exists by being stranded off the coast of a country you’re not entirely familiar with and being found by a mysterious stranger, there are more things lurking in the distance. Stories of mermaids and other lighthouse stories come to light, along with a weird set of rules Ismael implements to keep them “safe.” Emily has to do everything to ensure her safety and try to escape the lighthouse grounds and get back to her life.
Where Beacon truly gets to shine through are with the performances from the two leads, both of which excel and create masterful characters. Telles (The Wind) playing the “scared and on-edge woman who doesn’t know how to get back home and doesn’t trust her supposed saviour” never truly lets Ismael onto Emily’s intelligence, while Bichir (The Hateful Eight) plays the “dastardly, quiet, to himself, and deeply alone and isolated lighthouse keeper” so that nothing about him appears to be sinister or evil, but gives the audience enough so they get a sense of unease from Ismael’s demeanor and actions. The way that Telles and Bichir juxtapose the two performances is truly a stray light in what is otherwise a very bleak situation the audience finds themselves on this journey. Their performances truly are the brilliant final puzzle piece to this psychological trip.
L-R: Julia Goldani Telles as Emily and Demián Bichir as Ismael in BEACON. Photo courtesy of AKA Productions/Tribeca Film Festival.
While Julio Rojas creates a masterful script that engages the audience throughout and has them engaged throughout the movie, leaving them on the edge of their seats, it is Roxy Shih’s direction that helps transport us to the world of chaos and terror. Bichir and Telles share chemistry that evokes terror, helping tie together the chaotic adventure we find these characters on. Beacon may be defined as a “light set up in a high or prominent position as a warning, signal or celebration,” but the film is certainly existential dread whereas the performances are the true beacon.
Screening during Tribeca Film Festival 2024.
For more information, head to the official Tribeca 2024 Beacon webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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