Rare Beasts (film)

Rare Beasts is a 2019 British psychological romantic drama film written and directed by Billie Piper in her directorial debut. It stars Piper, Lily James, David Thewlis, Leo Bill, Kerry Fox and Toby Woolf.

Rare Beasts premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 31 August 2019, later receiving a simultaneous release in cinemas and digitally on 21 May 2021 in the UK.

Premise
Mandy is a career-driven nihilistic single mother with a deeply disturbed son, who falls in love with a patriarchal man with rage issues named Pete.

Cast

 * Billie Piper as Mandy
 * Leo Bill as Pete
 * David Thewlis as Vic
 * Lily James as Cressida
 * Kerry Fox as Marion
 * Toby Woolf as Larch
 * Jonjo O'Neill as Dougie
 * Antonia Campbell-Hughes as Cathy
 * Montserrat Lombard as Val
 * Mariah Gale as Vanessa
 * Michael Elwyn as Bertie

Production
In May 2018, it was announced Billie Piper would write, direct, and star in the film. In September 2018, it was announced that principal photography had commenced, with David Thewlis, Leo Bill and Kerry Fox joining the cast of the film. Filming took place in London, as well as Lloret de Mar, Catalonia, Spain.

Release
Rare Beasts had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on 31 August 2019. The film later screened at the London Film Festival and the Kerry Film Festival, both in October 2019. The film's North American premiere was scheduled to take place at South by Southwest in March 2020, however, the festival was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In February 2021, the film's first official trailer was released and distributor Republic Film Distribution earmarked its UK theatrical release for 7 May 2021. The film's release date was later revised to 21 May 2021, as government lockdown restrictions on indoor cinemas were lifted from 17 May in England, Scotland and Wales. The film received a limited release in 30 cinemas across the UK and was simultaneously made available to purchase and stream on Amazon Prime Video and the Google Play Store.

Reception
Of the 51 reviews collected by review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 71% were reported as being positive with an average rating of 6.1/10. The critics consensus reads: "Billie Piper's admirably bold directorial vision isn't quite enough to counter Rare Beasts ' frustratingly shallow treatment of its weightier themes."