Beckett

 2/4

Starring: John David Washington, Vicky Krieps, Boyd Holbrook, Alicia Vikander

Not Rated (probable R for Violence and Some Language)

"Beckett" is the kind of movie that Alfred Hitchcock could have had a tremendous amount of fun with.  After all, it centers around the wrongfully accused man and uses action to camouflage the seams in the plot.  Unfortunately, despite a strong start, the film loses the thread and becomes the very movie it so desperately tried to avoid becoming.

Beckett (Washington) is on a vacation in Greece with his long time girlfriend April (Vikander).  Instead of starting in their hotel as originally planned, they are taking a tour of the country.  On their way, Beckett falls asleep at the wheel and crashes the car, killing April.  Just when things couldn't possibly get any worse, he finds himself on the wrong end of a gun and is chased all over Greece by some crooked cops.

Co-writer/director Fernando Cito Filomarino takes great care to develop Beckett as an average guy.  Typically in a movie like this, Beckett would be played by Bruce Willis or Jackie Chan and would fight his way out of his predicament and kill the bad guys.  That's not the case here.  Beckett is lousy in a fight and is well aware that he is in over his head.  He's no spy and certainly no action hero.  But he is also smart and able to think quickly.  This gives the film its edge and allows Filomarino to generate a substantial amount of dread and suspense.  "How is he going to get out of this?" is the most important question an audience member can ask themselves in a thriller like this, and it is something that I frequently asked myself.

All stories have to have an end, and that's where "Beckett" falls flat on its face.  When Beckett is trying to escape, the film works.  But then the film starts providing answers to why people are trying to kill him, and none of it makes any sense whatsoever.  Further, for 90% of the running time, Beckett is no action hero.  He gets into a fight or two, but gets his ass kicked.  That added a sense of desperation and vulnerability to his character.  But as things tie up, he becomes a generic action hero and that robs the film of what made it so distinctive.

At least the cast is made up of some of the most promising new talent in Hollywood these days.  John David Washington shows that "Tenet" was no fluke, demonstrating presence and ability as the everyman at the center of a political conspiracy he doesn't understand.  Alicia Vikander makes the most of her few scenes; she and Washington create a relationship that feels genuine and lived in.  Vicky Krieps, best known for her role in "Phantom Thread," the final film of Daniel Day Lewis, adds warmth and safety to the film.  And Boyd Holbrook is his usual reliable self.  He needs more roles.

Hitchcock knew better than anyone that all good thrillers have to have a strong finish.  Remember the fight on Mount Rushmore at the end of "North by Northwest?"  Or Jimmy Stewart's desperate attempt to escape a killer in "Rear Window?"  "Beckett" doesn't have that.  The conclusion isn't just weak, it's fatally dumb.  And it tanks the movie.