Beauty review: A superficial portrayal of a young Black singer

The film directed by Andrew Dosunmu stars Grace Marie Bradley in the lead role

Beauty

Story: Set in the 1980s, the film revolves around Beauty, a young Black woman who is a gifted singer. When she is offered a record deal, she finds herself in the middle of her God-fearing, overbearing parents and a loving girlfriend.

Review: Beauty, Netflix’s latest film on a promising young singer, has been released at a time when Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis is successfully running in theatres, receiving favourable reviews from critics and the general audience. Besides Elvis, Hollywood has produced numerous other films, including Ray, Bohemian Rhapsody, Notorious, and Shine, that capture the ups and downs of a musician’s career. Beauty is officially not a biopic, but it aspires to be a moving portrait of an artist who is about to find fame and success. Making a film on a subject that has been explored multiple times by different filmmakers, is a challenging task for any writer or director. But director Andrew Dosunmu’s approach lacks depth and conviction.

Grace Marie Bradley plays the eponymous character in the film. People around her describe her as a gifted singer with a “voice of an angel”. Unlike her mother, who never had a professional debut in music, Beauty wants to make a name for herself in the music industry of the 80s. And when an opportunity knocks at her door, she grabs it. In numerous scenes, Beauty can be seen listening to the songs of other singers who were superstars of that time. However, the audience never get to hear Beauty sing. Not even once. And this is odd, especially since the story revolves around Beauty and her “iconic” voice. Additionally, it’s hard to connect with Beauty’s character. Her story is neither intriguing nor engaging.

The supporting characters do not add much to the narrative. Beauty’s mother (Niecy Nash) believes her daughter is not ready to make her professional debut. “I am not sending her out in the world to be eaten by wolfs,” she tells her husband. Beauty’s domineering father (Giancarlo Esposito) is a man of contradictions. He wants his daughter to cling to Christian values while making money with her talent. She has two brothers whose sole purpose is to “protect her”. None of these characters are developed adequately, and viewers are expected to figure out on their own.

The only likeable character in the film is that of Jasmine (Aleyse Shannon). She is the only person who seems to genuinely care for Beauty. Though even her story isn’t well-established in the film, it is easy to sympatise with her because of the rejection she faces from Beauty’s family.

Many things are left unexplained in the film and the scene wherein Beauty speaks to her male neighbour feels completely out of character. This comes as a major disappointment since the film is penned by Lena Waithe who has previously written the screenplay for the critically acclaimed 2020 film Queen & Slim. On several occasions, Beauty’s mother warn her about the grim reality of fame and stardom and how difficult it is for Black female artists to survive in the industry. But the film brushes it off on the surface without digging much into that aspect. Although the makers have not confirmed if the film is based on or inspired by a true story, the plot bears resemblance to the life of the late singer Whitney Houston.

The film is visually pleasing, thanks to cinematographer Benoît Delhomme. The songs that Bradley listens to are sure to evoke a sense of nostalgia among all those who grew up listening to them. However, the film offers very little in terms of a compelling story and stand-out performances. Bradley does a commendable job despite a lacklustre screenplay that doesn’t leave much scope for a memorable performance.

Verdict: Beauty leaves a lot of things to the imagination of its audience and that is its major drawback. It is a poorly executed film which fails to keep one engaged.

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