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Highly Overrated But Still Good

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

..... told in an urban legend style!There's the key phrase ... urban legend ... which you hear more than once throughout this movie! This story is just an urban legend. That weird neighborhood with those big odd houses and equally odd residents. How could a policeman own that huge house that Danny lived in? And the neighborhood seemed totally uninvolved with their fellow neighbors. Suzy outside showing herself off and then again inside? There's a couple having sex and nobody closes the curtains on the ground floor of their houses? Then number 46, the house at the end of the road ... the mystery house with the woman forever standing at the window. None of these characters comes across as real. There's just enough reality to them to be believed - just like an urban legend.Then there is Danny, the withdrawn fourteen year old obsessed with taking photos and with Suzy next door. For a loner young boy he has nerves of steel and no fear of taking the challenges Suzy gives him to earn her attention. Just boil this story down to the opening stories of the missing girls - Danny - Suzy - house 46 - the strange woman inside - the detective magazines - and Max; you have yourself a full blown urban legend.This is an OK movie with just enough edge to it to keep your interest up and then the powerhouse ending to bring it all into focus! None of it ever really happened.I think the movie is called 'Beautiful' because director Flaherty was hung up on Sebastian's face - all those closeups of that most innocent wide eyed actor with that halo of black hair!

I was quite drawn in by the title and brief description of the movie. I watched this at home on the TV one bored night - uh, morning.With that said, I want it to be known that this movie was actually pretty captivating. The relationship between the "weird" main character(Danny) and the "alluring" girl next door(Suzy) was enough to find something odd about the way manipulation was used to find out more information about the mysterious disappearances.The climax of the film however, was a little weird. I was hoping for some dramatic reunion between the woman in the house (Jennifer) and Danny. *Call me a sucker for a happy ending* I really found a likeness towards the stepmother, but for Danny's sake, I wished the whereabouts of his real mom would've been better explained...Not just that she's dead so the woman in the house can't be her :/On one hand, I was exciting about the shrieking phone call where Danny dares to go into the villainous house with his dad's firearm to save the girl of his dreams, but at the end... well, I was left feeling sorry for the couple who just wanted to be left alone.Ugh, and don't get me started on Suzy. That chick's forehead alone could crush walnuts. (I'm sorry. I just had to add a little rant about how she was seen as being attractive.)I found the ending to be a little too calm. Most people found it confusing. I just assumed that Suzy's mom sitting in the window was the only adding to the film's creepy atmosphere. It made me think that perhaps Jennifer was trying to protect the neighborhood, the same way Suzy's mom said she would. In the film's defense, Jennifer did keep telling Danny that it wasn't safe coming to her house (which could have easily been seen as a hint towards her motherly past-life she doesn't want speak of)The only question I had in my mind was: How did the mom die? Why was she ripped out of all of her pictures? And most importantly, how did Jennifer get her charm bracelet? (seems a bit more than a coincidence)

I was interested in watching Beautiful because I generally like Australian cinema very much.As well as other countries, Australia tends to take the most popular genres from Hollywood, but with a different and particular taste which makes them seem like something new.And one of the formulas it best interprets is the "suburban thriller", as we can see on the excellent films Lantana and Alexandra's Project.Beautiful counted with some elements to be an addition to that group: an unresolved mystery, idyllic characters full of sinister secrets, and solid performances; but the screenplay has various fails, and even though the final result is interesting, it did not leave me completely satisfied.The dark side of the suburbs has been a fashionable topic since mid-20th century, and some filmmakers have used it with brilliant results.However, Beautiful repeats the most basic features from the sub-genus, and it ends up bringing a simultaneously confusing and a bit predictable story, where the "surprise ending" is truly unexpected...but not because it is particularly ingenious, but because it comes out of nowhere, at the same time it leads to the destiny I had been suspecting from some time before.Nevertheless, I liked this film, specially because of the performances.Sebastian Gregory brings a credible and detailed performance; I hope to see him in more movies.Tahyna Tozzi shows a good scenic presence and a facility to say pretty much with economy of expression.And the underrated Peta Wilson also made a competent work as a housewife.In conclusion, despite the fails from the screenplay, I found Beautiful to be interesting and entertaining, but not very memorable.Nevertheless, I think it deserves a recommendation, mainly because of the performances and the good atmosphere achieved by director Dean O'Flaherty.

Just want to write a quick note to combat the other comments on here a bit. First, this movie isn't TRYING to be "American Beauty" or "Donnie Darko" -- and it certainly isn't trying to be David Lynch. To compare this to any David Lynch film shows you don't understand Lynch at all.This is an atmospheric thriller. No, the plot isn't ridiculously tangled and doesn't have countless twists, like many Hollywood thrillers that seem to feel obligated to throw dozens of red herrings at the audience so that they feel sufficiently fishy when they leave the theater.But neither is this movie trying to be an over-the-top freakfest like a Lynch film. I love David Lynch's style and the effect his films have on me, but this is quite different.This movie was slow and calculated, with plenty of scenes to build atmosphere -- and thereby deepen the sense of character and environment. No, every scene does not advance the plot. Yes, you can tell most of what's going to happen in advance.But for a strange story about a demented youth for whom everything goes terribly wrong, I thought this was wonderful. All the actors are top-notch, and the cinematography is delightful.A more accurate frame of reference than the above-mentioned movies would be "Heavenly Creatures," Peter Jackson's tale of the disturbed fantasy life of two girls that explodes into violence. I felt shades of that story throughout "Beautiful." If you want a fast-moving, keep-you-guessing thriller, don't look here. You'll be disappointed. But if you want to see a nicely shot, atmospheric tale that slowly spins out of control, this is well worth your time.