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| Quvenzhané Wallis stars in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" |
Rare is a film that comes along and wins awards at both Sundance and Cannes. Until now, no film that has accomplished both feats has ever been anchored by a five-year-old or set in a place called 'the Bathtub.' After learning that the casting call was for six to nine-year-olds, Quvenzhané Wallis lied about her age in order to secure an audition. Boy, was that a good move! As far as I'm concerned, Wallis' performance as Hushpuppy catapults this film into iconic territory. This is not just a precocious kid getting fed good lines. Wallis' face speaks words that she isn't even old enough to have learned yet.
While no doubt remains that this film belongs to Wallis, her performance is just one piece of a larger puzzle that "depends on everything fitting together just right." Everything fits together more than just right and I'm thrilled to award Benh Zeitlin's "Beasts of the Southern Wild" a five-star rating.
