The idea of being stuck somewhere with someone with possible ill intent is a frightening one. Getting caught by a punishing coworker during a break is bad enough. Being stuck on an island thousands of miles from the mainland with a possibly sinister lighthouse keeper? Arguably one of the worst-case scenarios out there. Roxy Shih’s Beacon is an examination of how paranoia and cabin fever can quickly turn people against one another.
Emily is a young sailor setting out to circumnavigate the world in honor of her late father. It’s the trip of a lifetime, but a freak storm off the coast of South America leaves her stranded on isolated island with lighthouse keeper Ishmael. Soon, Emily begins to suspect Ishmael isn’t telling her everything, and her world begins to dissolve into a haze of paranoia and terror.
This is a film that absolutely nails it when it portrays two people in an increasingly tense situation being unable to escape one another. Said tension is palpable between Demian Bichir and Julia Goldani Telles, a crackling energy that runs through every scene. Bichir’s Ishmael is somehow kindly and sinister all at once, with every word and action evading any attempt to pin down intent. Telles, for her part, excels at portraying a character not only clearly descending into madness but who is also aware that her perception of things is suspect. Shih creates this insane atmosphere by keeping the audience just as unsure of what’s going. For every “lie” Emily catches Ishmael in, he has an explanation for it, a reason as to why she is the crazy one. Thus, we spend much of the film asking ourselves is he gaslighting her or is the isolation of the island getting to her? Shih steadily ratchets up the evidence for and against Emily’s suspicions, and the result is a true nail biter of a film.
Beacon is a taught, tense little film, clipping along from scene to scene as it documents a rapidly unraveling situation between two people in some godawful corner of the world. It will keep you guessing literally until the last frame and leave you unable to determine who you should be cheering for.
