Beatriz at Dinner (2017)

Unsubtle social drama - Beatriz at Dinner review by PD

This piece is notable for a fine performance by Salma Hayek as the tender and dignified Beatriz, but whilst it's laudably well-intentioned the film is way too unsubtle to be entirely successful as an intended parable about haves and have-nots forced to mix socially with the inevitable disastrous results. It’s to the director's credit that they don’t make their title protagonist an eco-warrior secular saint, for Beatriz is a troubled soul, and putting her in the same room with the super-elite, notably the Trump-like Douglas Strutt, undoubtedly produces some telling, if excruciating, moments. But whilst it's hard not to agree with the disgust he feels at this privileged, entitled class’ complacency and complicity, unfortunately, a more nuanced approach to the dynamics of this culture clash would have made the film a lot more effective, and the final act feels like a cop-out, resolved with a magical-realist sleight of hand that cheats the viewer of a proper resolution while at the same time pushing the characters to the limits of credibility.