Beach Rats

Beach Rats is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Eliza Hittman. It stars Harris Dickinson, Madeline Weinstein, and Kate Hodge. It was screened at the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival,[2] and was theatrically released on August 25, 2017, by Neon.

Beach Rats
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEliza Hittman
Written byEliza Hittman
Produced by
  • Brad Becker-Parton
  • Andrew Goldman
  • Drew P. Houpt
  • Paul Mezey
Starring
CinematographyHélène Louvart
Edited by
  • Scott Cummings
  • Joe Murphy
Music byNicholas Leone
Production
companies
Distributed byNeon
Release dates
  • January 23, 2017 (2017-01-23) (Sundance)
  • August 25, 2017 (2017-08-25) (United States)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$486,623[1]

Plot

Frankie is an aimless 19-year-old Brooklynite who spends his days hanging out and getting high with his macho friends as an escape from his troubled home life. His family includes his little sister and a mother who is mostly occupied with caring for his terminally ill father. At night, Frankie cruises Brooklyn Boys, a webcam site for gay men, but partially obscures his face with a hat.

When Frankie and his friends are at the Coney Island boardwalk watching fireworks, he catches the attentions of local girl Simone. Simone accompanies Frankie back to his place and tries to initiate sex with him, asking, "Am I pretty?" Frankie cannot perform and tries to make small talk instead, mocking and imitating her question. Insulted, Simone leaves. A few days later, Frankie and his friends are at the beach when they spot Simone with another guy. Frankie goes to apologize to Simone for his behavior the other night, and she tentatively forgives him. Meanwhile, Frankie uses the chat site to arrange hookups, particularly with older men as they are less likely to run into his friends and give away his double life. When a male partner asks about his penchant for older men, Frankie replies, "I don’t really know what I like."

Frankie suffers a loss when his father succumbs to his terminal cancer. Frankie takes his dad’s pills, which he and his friends have been abusing. On a day out with Simone, Frankie casually asks her if she’s ever made out with a girl. Simone replies she has, and makes an offhand comment that it’s hot when girls make out, but when guys make out, it’s gay. That night, Frankie forces himself to have sex with her. Later, after a hookup with a gay man at a motel, Frankie is asked about his orientation. Frankie says he is not gay and reasons he has a girlfriend.

Frankie’s secret life becomes increasingly at risk of being discovered when he happens to run into his male partners in public. Simone breaks things off with him when he becomes erratic while high on drugs. When Frankie and his friends are running out on their drug supply, Frankie proposes using the gay chat site, claiming that he uses it to find guys with weed. His friends show discomfort with the idea, but Frankie says all they need to do is pretend to be gay to get the drugs. Frankie lets the guys know he is meeting up with Jeremy, an out gay man closer to his age. Frankie invites Jeremy to come smoke with him and his friends, but Jeremy becomes wary when he catches sight of Frankie’s crew and leaves.

Later, Jeremy messages Frankie and says he wants to meet up and smoke with him, but alone. His friends see the message and insist on tagging along so they can steal Jeremy’s weed. When Frankie hesitates at the idea, his friends question why he even uses the chat site to begin with. Frankie again claims it’s just for drugs and says he will meet Jeremy at the beach. Jeremy arrives to pick up Frankie and during the car ride, Jeremy deduces Frankie is closeted, which Frankie resists with the belief that he does not think he is gay, and, in Jeremy's words, just "has sex with men".

On the beach, Frankie starts feeling remorse for bringing Jeremy there and suggests going back to his place. Just as Jeremy questions what’s going on, Frankie’s friends ambush Jeremy and demand the weed. When Jeremy refuses, Frankie’s friends beat him. Though Frankie retrieves the drug, his friends insist on continuing to beat Jeremy, whom they ultimately leave for dead in the waves.  

At home, Frankie gets rid of all traces of the gay chat site on his computer, including shirtless selfies he’s taken. The film ends with him watching the fireworks again at the boardwalk, but with a look of anguish and uncertainty.

Cast
  • Harris Dickinson as Frankie
  • Madeline Weinstein as Simone
  • Kate Hodge as Donna
  • Neal Huff as Joe
  • Nicole Flyus as Carla
  • Frank Hakaj as Nick
  • David Ivanov as Alexei
  • Anton Selyaninov as Jesse
  • Harrison Sheehan as Jeremy
  • Douglas Everett Davis as Harry
  • Erik Potempa as Michael

Production

In April 2016, it was announced Eliza Hittman would direct the film, based upon a screenplay she had written.[3] Hittman said her inspiration for the film was a Facebook selfie of a young man from Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn, a member of a group known as "beach rats." The selfie was shot "in a basement with ugly fluorescent lights and a dirty mirror and he was shirtless with a hat on that was covering his eyes...There was this tension in the image between something that was hypermasculine and simultaneously homoerotic, a feeling that he was hiding something because his eyes were in the shadow of this visor. He was about 19 years old and he looked dangerous and fragile at the same time, and I try to use images like that as character introductions. What we shot is almost a direct reframing of the image."[4]

Hittman said the film was also inspired by real-life incidents, commenting, "I’ve had friends who have been attacked walking around certain areas of Brooklyn, and been totally knocked out. I’ve had people who have had Grindr experiences. I’m aware of all the types of violence that exist, and I’ve read about them and processed them. I think [the victim in the film] represents many types of victims."[5]

Cinereach and Animal Kingdom produced the film, alongside Secret Engine.[6]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival on January 23.[7] Shortly after, Neon acquired distribution rights to the film.[8] It was released theatrically on August 25, 2017.[9]

Reception

Critical reception
Hittman receiving The Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival

Beach Rats received positive reviews from film critics. It holds an 85% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 106 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Empathetic and powerfully acted, Beach Rats takes a clear-eyed yet dreamlike look at a young man's adolescent turmoil."[10] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 78 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]

K. Austin Collins of The Ringer wrote the film strongly gives "the prevailing sense that masculinity is something learned—put-on and performed for the sake of fitting in with others. Frankie’s other life throws that into question. It’s a Gender Studies 101 trope, to be sure, but rarely has a movie made us understand this so naturally, as truth rather than theory".[12] Victor Rocha of Out Write said, "The movie doesn’t make us feel good; it doesn’t pat us on the back and tell us the world will be okay. Instead, it shows us the internal struggle of someone who can’t come to terms with who they are. The moments of silence represent how we feel, the emptiness inside as we stare into the world unsure of where we fit in. Beach Rats is not a happy movie, but it is a movie that captures emotion on film – genuine, inexplicable emotion."[13]

The New York Times' Ben Kenigsberg said, "Frankie’s drug intake, his ailing father, his relationships with his mother (Kate Hodge) and younger sister (Nicole Flyus) and perhaps even his reluctance to leave familiar surroundings all contribute to a powerful sense of limbo. The back-and-forths of the character’s decisions feel real, and Mr. Dickinson’s laconic blankness...helps to give Frankie’s existential crisis a charge."[14] Jay Kuehner, reporting from the 2017 Sundance Film Festival for the Canadian film magazine Cinema Scope, praised the 16 mm photography by Hélène Louvart, invoking a comparison to the visual aesthetic of Moonlight and Beau Travail, as well as the films of Robert Bresson and Philippe Grandrieux.[15]

Though Dickinson's performance was praised, the film also sparked criticism and debate, with some critics saying the ending felt unearned and that its violence perpetuates the "bury your gays" trope,[5][16][17] and others saying the film "risks reducing gay coming-of-age to seediness and shame."[18] Some also pointed out the ending calls to mind real-life incidents of users on gay dating apps being targeted for violence.[5] At the Sundance screening, Hittman was questioned by an audience member about whether she, a white heterosexual woman, should be allowed to tell gay stories.[5][19] Hittman said she welcomed the dialogue and added, "I think it’s interesting...who gets to tell what story. I think it’s slightly complicated at this moment. I think that the conversation should be more about how we create more opportunity for people who don’t get to tell their story, to tell their story."[19]

Of the ending, Collins wrote, "Like Beach Rats overall, the ending is a reminder of what can happen when a director trusts us enough not to offer easy takeaways and psychological absolutes. What happens when a character who doesn’t know what he wants loses control over what little understanding he already has? It’s a crisis, and a risk, and Beach Rats navigates both with the best of them."[12]

Accolades
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
Chéries-Chéris November 21, 2017 Grand Prize Beach Rats Nominated [20]
Deauville Film Festival September 10, 2017 Grand Special Prize Nominated [21]
Gotham Independent Film Awards November 27, 2017 Breakthrough Actor Harris Dickinson Nominated [22]
Independent Spirit Awards March 3, 2018 Best Male Lead Nominated [23]
Best Cinematography Hélène Louvart Nominated
Hamburg Film Festival October 14, 2017 NDR Young Talent Award Eliza Hittman Nominated [24]
Independent Film Festival of Boston April 29, 2017 Grand Jury Prize Beach Rats Won [25][26]
L.A. Outfest July 16, 2017 Best Screenwriting in a U.S. Feature Won [27]
Locarno International Film Festival August 12, 2017 Golden Leopard Nominated [28]
London Film Critics Circle Awards January 28, 2018 Young British/Irish Performer Harris Dickinson Won [29]
Montclair Film Festival May 6, 2017 Future/Now Prize Beach Rats Won [30]
Sarasota Film Festival April 9, 2017 Jury Prize Nominated [31]
Seattle International Film Festival June 11, 2017 Grand Jury Prize Nominated [32]
Stockholm International Film Festival November 20, 2017 Bronze Horse Nominated [33]
Sundance Film Festival January 28, 2017 Directing Award Eliza Hittman Won [34][35]
Grand Jury Prize Beach Rats Nominated

See also

References
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  2. Erbland, Kate (November 30, 2016). "Sundance 2017 Announces Competition and NEXT Lineups, Including Returning Favorites and Major Contenders". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  3. Nordine, Michael (April 25, 2016). "A Sophomore Sundance Star Goes to the Next Level". Ozy.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  4. Buchanan, Kyle (August 24, 2017). "With Beach Rats, Director Eliza Hittman Shows Male Sexuality Her Way". Vulture. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  5. Donnelly, Matt (August 25, 2017). "Indie Movie 'Beach Rats' Has a #BuryYourGays Problem - But It's Not Backing Down". TheWrap. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  6. Hipes, Patrick (January 23, 2017). "Trio Launches Secret Engine Production Shingle With 'Beach Rats' – Sundance". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
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  12. Collins, K. Austin (August 25, 2017). "'Beach Rats' Is a Sexual Coming-of-Age Story That Crackles With the Unknown". The Ringer. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  13. Rocha, Victor (March 1, 2018). "Review: Beach Rats". Out Write. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  14. Kenigsberg, Ben (August 24, 2017). "Review: In 'Beach Rats,' Life and Sexuality in Limbo". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  15. Kuehner, Jay (March 24, 2017). "Sundance (II): A Few Useful Details". Cinema Scope. CS70. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  16. Madison III, Ira (September 1, 2017). "A Heartless Gay Coming-of-Age Story Plagued by Violence". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
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  19. Bloomer, Jeffrey (September 18, 2017). "Who Gets to Make Movies About Gay Sexuality?". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
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