VIFF 2021: The Beta Test
VIFFThe first thing to note in Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe's indictment of modern Hollywood in The Beta Test is the issue of tone and narrative shift. While the feature itself is a power to the ability and range of both directors, the thematic weight is tonally inconsistent, abrasive, underwhelming and scattershot.
This may sound contradictory, but the content is immersive and interesting, with well-produced flair and craft. The context, for one, is an element so few films try to curate but fail in making it engaging, and Cummings and McCabe take a good satirist jab at the world they are slowly entering. The issue here is that there is so much trying to be asserted on a narrative level. Three or four narrative arcs are presented and ultimately fall flat with so little time and depth expressed in what descends into one establishing motif of sins of industry. Harvey Weinstein, casting couch, bribes so on so forth – they are all here to express the terror and torment of the underbelly of Hollywood. However, aside from – for the most part – restraining itself actually to bestow and present such to the audience, The Beta Test simply refers and implies a connective spirit, and instead foils itself into a b-side Eyes Wide Shut mystery.
This said-mystery that befalls upon the audience is the most integral yet most disappointing aspect. First and foremost, it holds such interest with specifically curated iconography and colours that attract. Yet before long, it loses steam, sensuality, interest and, when the cards finally align, the audience with how flat and redundant the eventual reveal is crafted. Anti-climatic might be an understatement and what hurts the most is that this sexual mystery aspect is the most engaging and immersive element for so much of its arc. The tension and anxiety it causes with the brooding performances from the screenplay undeniably help boost the audience connection with the material.
Cummings himself starring in this feature does quite a great job with charisma that keeps the audience interested. Nevertheless, cutting back and forth to issues in the office and on the nose representation of toxic masculinity – that is both basic and hollow – does little to build upon the above narrative foundation and dries out the enthusiasm and interest. It is strange because, as the feature develops, it becomes increasingly clear who and what influences the actor, writer, and director with one pivotal scene in an underground parking lot; it’s the exact replication of Jim Carrey's infamous courtroom monologue in Liar Liar. That being said, Cummings can deliver a monologue himself with anger and venom, yet balance tone incredibly with comedic undertones when brevity and pause are needed. He can be warm, tender, vicious and all-encompassing when the scene demands it.
But again, all hope is washed away with the sheer amount of narrative tone on offer in cutting back and forth from workplace harassment, an indictment of Hollywood talent agencies, a sensual mystery and, to cap it off, an arc between Cummings and his on-screen partner Caroline played by Virginia Newcomb that ultimately stores the main features goal of documenting the issue of adultery and lust. This is what the main thesis of The Beta Test is trying to uncover, but it is a theme presented that does little to craft an engaging interest or elevate the already over-produced documentation of said theme in cinema. It all just feels redundant and derivative with little in the wake of new ground presented.
This is the same sentiment that can be said for the aesthetic and production as a whole. Iconography and mystery images aside, the picture looks far too vivid with a lack of flair and identity behind the camera, ultimately looking routine and rudimentary with little personality present in the craft as well as composition. It is ironic because this very sentiment can be assessed, on the whole, regarding The Beta Test itself. Summed up as a feature that, with all its narrative arcs, ideas and presentation, falls into mundane and rudimentary territory that does not know what to do with its spark, falling on convention and eliciting little mood and weight.
