Movie Review – LIFE AFTER BETH

Every once in a while you’ll read a script where the writer is the only one who could possibly direct the film. My guess is that for anyone who took a run at Jeff Baena’s black dramedy Life after Beth either took a hard pass or just didn’t understand it. Once you discover this is the guy who wrote David O Russel’s I Heart Huckabees, it begins to make a lot more sense; this sardonic wit, the family dynamics, the manic-speed conversations, and the blend of comedy and tragedy are all instantly recognizable as the same voice.

A movie that begins with someone trying to shop for black napkins for a funeral, in a month that isn’t October, sets the tone perfectly — it’s a funny thing in a serious situation. Zach (Dane DeHaan) has just lost his girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza) in the most literal sense. He’s having trouble processing, and his family bicker while he’s in mourning. Beth’s parents (John C Reilly and Molly Shannon) haven’t been entirely honest though, as Beth isn’t really dead. Well, not anymore at least, and she isn’t the least bit aware of it. With her parents working to shelter Beth from the truth, and her waking each day thinking it’s the one before she died, Zach is progressively more convinved that she needs to know what happened. Meanwhile other folks seem to be acting strange too, doing their jobs on total autopilot, oblivious that they’ve returned as well. Then guess what? People, as it turns out, should stay dead.

This is a family drama disguised as a romantic comedy all trapped inside a zombie apocalypse. The dead coming back not as blood thirsty animals but rather as if nothing happened is the most logical way to approach the subject, and it isn’t done nearly enough. Only after they realize they’re a zombie do the instincts take control and the humanity disappears. It’s really creepy to think about but It’s handled in the most mundane, comedic way that is just wonderful.

The original score by BRMC (aka Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) is fantastically trippy, atmospheric and psych-out heavy, and at the other end of the spectrum the zombies’ relaxation and soothing comes in the form of generic, smooth jazz. Numerous scenes use this to drastically offset the discomfort and horror that’s happening…or accentuate it, depends on where you’re coming from. I love the look of the film too, it’s overexposed and underexposed depending on the time of day, and it sets the mood for the ups and downs of the narrative. Oh, those ups and downs: everyone enjoys laughing at a bad movie, but I personally love laughing at moments I’m not sure I’m supposed to be. The best a black comedy can do is have you reflecting on yourself and whether you should or shouldn’t be finding moments funny. Life after Beth does so in spades.

As much as I enjoyed this flick, I’d be hard pressed to recommend it to someone unless I know them. Approaching it with a wrong mindset could leave one with the impression that the movie is too silly or too serious or too stupid or too strange, while Life after Beth is the perfect amount of each. Being self aware of the genre stereotypes and using them to it’s advantage is one of the movie’s best assets. The story goes where you think it will, but how it gets there is anything but usual or typical. I’d suggest this as a double feature with 2013’s apocalyptic comedy It’s a Disaster, as both know if there’s a place as any to laugh it might as well be at the end of the world.

LIFE AFTER BETH IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH DIRECT TV AND WILL EXPAND TO OTHER VOD SERVICES AND A LIMITED THEATRICAL RUN BEGINNING AUGUST 15TH, 2014