Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (12) 
D: Benh Zeitlin
Fox Searchlight/Cinereach (Dan Janvey, Josh Penn & Michael Gottwald) 
USA 🇺🇸 2012
93 mins

Drama

W: Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin [based on the story 'Juicy & Delicious' by Lucy Alibar]
DP: Ben Richardson
Ed: Crockett Doob & Affonso Gonçalves
Mus: Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin

Quvenzhane Wallis (Hushpuppy), Dwight Henry (Wink)

This movie saw debutante Quvenzhane Wallis become the youngest ever nominee for a Best Actress Oscar and it was an accolade quite richly deserved, her performance carries the entire film.
She plays Hushpuppy, a six-year-old girl living in a remote part of the Bayou called "The Bathtub" along with her bad-tempered father.  When a storm leaves their vast homeland flooded, her father teaches her some rules of survival before he succumbs to poor health.
Aside from the great performances, this film does suffer from a rather slow-moving narrative, especially during the opening 20 minutes and would probably be most enjoyed by fans of arthouse pictures. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it, although it's not one I'd choose to watch more than the once.
7/10

Quvenzhane Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild
Quvenzhane Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild
Did You Know:
On the film's very first day of shooting in the fictional "Bathtub" location outside of New Orleans, the BP oil rig explosion and the start of the massive spill occurred. For most of the shoot in nearby waters, Benh Zeitlin and his crew had to maneuver in and around the clean-up operations.