Beast of Burden is a 2018 crime drama about a man with only one hour to deliver illegal cargo for a drug cartel while his sick wife faces death.
The premise is an old one, where a man is suddenly thrust into action, typically to save someone he loves or others with only a short time to do it, a clock ticking down to a possible tragedy. Think of Al Pacino‘s 88 Minutes or the far superior Run Lola Run. With Jesper Ganslandt‘s latest Beast of Burden, we again find ourselves under a terrifying countdown, though it mixes in another genre as well, the isolated hero, though not with any of the effectiveness that the films it was influenced by had. This is a story with good ideas that simple can’t make the best of its talent and promise, ultimately becoming a forgettable thriller.
Beginning aboard a single seat Cessna, Sean (Daniel Radcliffe) is flying in desperation, eyeing the control panel with obvious suspense. He has every right to feel so. He’s a drug mule for a very dangerous Mexican cartel, but he’s doing double duty. He’s also working for the DEA, planning to deliver the load as arranged but then betray the criminals so that he can collect from the good guys, start a new life and pay for the expensive medical costs needed for his sick wife Jen (Grace Gummer). Problem is, he’s getting calls one after the other, some from Jen, who has no idea what her husband is up to but desperate for help, Bloom (Pablo Schreiber), a DEA agent who callously wants only the information Sean is carrying, as well as goons from the cartel who have their own demands. He’s got an hour to get the job done, and with time running out, it all starts to fall apart.
Even if it’s familiar, the setup is smart and loaded with potential. The humming of the little plane and the voices on the other end of the phone make for a clever start that provide plenty of possible tension as Sean tries to juggle his troubles. Indeed, there’s almost enough right here to make it stick, but it’s not long after where holes let in the water and this quickly sinks, to use a ship metaphor where a plane one is lacking. I’ll first avoid comparisons to Steven Knight‘s Locke, a film this one surely drew inspiration from, but will say that it deviates from that premise by taking us out of the cockpit and into some flashbacks, something that tries to offer some greater depth and perhaps more empathy for Sean’s plight, but unfortunately doesn’t get the traction it intends.
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Radcliffe has made great strides to distance himself from his Harry Potter years, taking roles in films that seem purposeful in shedding fans of his past, maybe in hopes of revealing some greater range. And who can blame him? The Woman in Black, Horns, and most especially the decidedly quirky Swiss Army Man are all examples of an actor clearly looking to create vast gaps in fan expectations. With Beast of Burden, he should have opportunities to shine, but the film is labored and uneven, not especially well-written, and doesn’t give him the chance to really develop into anything we can get behind. It’s too bad, because he deserves that chance.