Ah, yes: the promising fighter who could’ve been a contender, could’ve been a champion. But then life intervened: bad decisions were made, promises broken, the wrong paths taken. But what if the past came knocking on his door? What if our long-in-the-tooth hero could have another crack, set things right, get in the ring one more time?
To say that Tyler Atkins’ Australian martial arts drama Beast plucks moves from a well-worn playbook is putting it lightly. This is one of those genre films in which nothing surprises in broad terms; it’s the small pivots and deviations that matter. Given the ring of familiarity surrounding everything, I was surprised to find myself as invested in the film as I was, particularly because so many chest-thumping sports movies are already out there, many of which I find about as intellectually engaging as the back of a bag of protein powder.
The screenwriters (David Frigerio and Russell Crowe, who co-stars in a small role as the coach) understand that boxing is really the scaffolding for drama: a way of piling stakes on to the protagonist. That protagonist is mixed martial arts fighter Patton James (Daniel MacPherson), whom we meet moments before a big fight, his trainer, Sammy (Crowe), delivering a mighty pep talk that culminates with the protagonist chanting: “If I can breathe, I can think. If I can think, I can win.”
Which made me wonder: presumably the other guy can breathe and think too? We don’t actually see the fight, the narrative jumping forward 10 years and relocating us to a fishing boat on a dark and stormy night. We learn that Patton has hit hard times, living south of Sydney, struggling to pay bills and the rent, though he’s happily married to Luciana (Kelly Gale). They have a daughter and another child on the way.
The details of what happened during that decade-long gap are gradually revealed, including some developments that shouldn’t be divulged here for spoiler-related reasons. But it’s important to note the essentials: that Patton triumphantly won the aforementioned fight, knocking out the film’s villain – the now reigning champion Xavier Grau (an impressively unlikable Bren Foster). With the aforementioned money problems, emphasised through dialogue like “We haven’t caught a fish in weeks”, we know it’s just a matter of time before the hard-done-by hero receives an appealing offer he’ll initially reject.
This is the bit in the monomyth structure marked “Refusal of the call”, whereby the hero says variations of “yeah, nah” before rising to the challenge. In Beast, Frigerio and Crowe really pack on the motivations for Patton: he needs money and his estranged brother Malon (Mojean Aria) needs money, being in debt with the wrong kind of people. Furthermore, Malon, who is also a fighter, is severely beaten by Xavier, making it a family matter.
So when Xavier’s manager, Gabriel (Luke Hemsworth), approaches Patton, offering him six figures to jump in the ring with Xavier, well, we know where this is going. The challenge of Patton preparing for the fight is one thing; more interestingly, the protagonist is emotionally hit from all directions: there are problems with his brother; problems with his wife; problems with his old trainer and mentor.
The film’s energy builds towards a big final showdown, though far more interesting is the way it points inwards, into the protagonist’s mind. MacPherson delivers a strong, stoic central performance, with lots of intensely anguished and forlorn looks. Crowe makes every scene as Sammy resonate, though he feels oddly under-used (perhaps he had other scheduling commitments?).
There are times when the writing and staging lay it on a little thick, though Beast never becomes too heavy-handed or on-the-nose, marking a significant step up for Atkins after his cheesy, Byron Bay-set 2022 drama Bosch & Rockit. Beast also looks nice and polished, with an intensely hued colour palette.
Narratively, it plays out with an element of “been there, done that”. But it also demonstrates why the “back from retirement” story template is popular in the first place. These battered old myth structures can still land punches.
Beast is in cinemas now and on digital platforms from 1 June in the UK and US, and on Stan in Australia from 4 June
