Following on the back of two acclaimed films on the indie circuit with Thunder Road and The Wolf of Snow Hollow, director Jim Cummings returns again with The Beta Test (this time co-written and directed by his co-star PJ McCabe).
Experiencing The Beta Test in the best way is to go in knowing as little as possible, so I will ensure in this review that their are no spoilers.
Jordan (Jim Cummings) is a Hollywood agent who is soon to be married, but he begins to quickly fall apart when he is drawn into a conspiracy and a threat to him due to his own greed and arrogance. He begins to act irrationally and take it out on everyone around him, constantly lying and manipulating people to try and save his skin as his life falls apart.
This film is not just a clear take on toxic masculinity, but more specifically on Hollywood and how it is ripping itself apart, especially in the last few years as those in power try to cling on to the ‘old ways’ and the things they used to be able to get away with.
Cummings appears in almost every scene of the film and is giving a truly go for broke performance, which will definitely not work for everyone but you really have to respect. He is frenzied, aggressive, incredibly unlikable and all round unpredictable.
It may sound like an odd comparison, but Cummings’ work brings to mind Tom Hardy in Venom, where an actor is giving such an over the top performance that’s so different to everyone else in the film that they feel like they are almost in a separate film altogether, and yet it somehow works.
The film is at its best when it is an absurd satire of Hollywood, but when it tries to be a mystery thriller or also be a take on the digital world and data manipulation, it really starts to fall apart. The film is just not able to handle the tonal shifts or ever able to be a compelling mystery.
With all that said, ‘The Beta Test’ is a go for broke satire of the toxicity in Hollywood, with a strong performance from its leading man. It definitely doesn’t all work and at times goes off the tracks, but when it hits, it really hits. Will leave you shaken when you finish, for good or bad.
Rating = 3/5
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