Available on Netflix, “Beckett” by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino tells the story of an American tourist who was the victim of a manhunt in Greece. An old-fashioned thriller that offers an interesting new role for John David Washington.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
After a tragic traffic accident in Greece, Beckett, an American tourist, finds himself caught up in a dangerous political plot and must flee to save his skin.
Beckett, a film co-written and directed by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino.
Available on Netflix
HOLIDAYS IN HELL
Death by Hunting, Marathon Man, Because of an Assassination, The Fugitive… In Hollywood, manhunt films belong to a sub-genre which had its heyday in the 1970s. Many of them feature the archetypal American hero, often embodied by an actor whose single name at the top of the bill could draw crowds. With Beckett, the Italian Ferdinando Cito Filomarino revisits the formula and changes the rules.
It offers a low-budget feature film that responds more to the codes of European cinema than to those of the great Hollywood classics. For the decor, he chooses Greece and takes advantage of the political context of the country to tell a story against the backdrop of a conspiratorial plot. John David Washington plays Beckett, a young American who came to spend his holidays in the country with his partner. After a terrible car accident, he becomes the target of the authorities who are desperate to eliminate him.
Yannis Drakoulidis / Netflix John David Washington in “Beckett”.
If the film remains rather classic, in both substance and form, it is nonetheless effective. The prey finds himself trapped in an endless nightmare, in a territory he does not know and in which he does not speak the language. The director takes advantage of this change of scenery to play on the fears of his character and the spectators. The scenes in Greek are also not subtitled to immerse the audience in the most total blur.
Filmmaker Ferdinando Cito Filomarino also plays with the soundtrack, composed by the Japanese Ryuichi Sakamoto, which sounds, on numerous occasions, like a horror film score. In addition to its beautiful photography – signed Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – the feature film is also based on the talent of its cast. John David Washington is very convincing, surrounded by Vicky Krieps – very present on the screens in 2021 – and Alicia Vikander, in a more secondary role. True to the spirit of the thrillers of the seventies, while being modern in many aspects, Beckett is a frantic race that should appeal to fans of the genre.
Check out the trailer for “Beckett”:
