Conspiracy thrillers have lost the popularity they once had. Although it is true that there are still some examples -whether films or television shows- that continue with this genre that had its heyday in the 60s and 70s, none could reach the level of films such as Three Days of the Condor, The Manchurian Candidate, The Parallax View, All the President’s Men or Blow Out. Whether focused on real people like a President of the United States like Nixon or more fictional events like the conspiracy to control people’s minds of Videodrome, these films usually follow a protagonist who has to expose a secret conspiracy and try to escape from suffering the consequences of disturbing the power of those on the top.

Directed by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino and with a script by Kevin A. Rice (based on a story by Filomarino), Beckett is centered on an American tourist -played by John David Washington (whose father -Denzel Washington- was the lead in the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate)- travelling with his girlfriend -an underused Alicia Vikander- in Greece. After surviving a tragic accident he finds himself on the run from the police without knowing why. This idea is intensified by having the protagonist not understanding any word spoken or written in Greek; however I am not confident that a person fluent on that language might see the film in the same way.

Behind its uninspiring title lies the second feature of Filomartino who -aside from a few other short films- has worked with Luca Guadagnino as Second Unit Director of I Am Love, A Bigger Splash, Call Me by Your Name and the remake of Suspiria. Here, he collaborates with Sayombhu Mukdeeprom -Director of Photography of Call Me by Your Name and Guadagnino’s Suspiria– to create a film that consciously avoids those unnecessary shots of the common -yet beautiful- landmarks of Greece, focusing instead on more natural and realistic settings. This allows the film to have a welcome contrast between the vast emptiness of nature and the claustrophobic and forgettable rural villages and dull streets in order to make the audience experience the same the sense of unfamiliarity that has devoured Beckett.

Using the name of the protagonist as the title of the film is a somewhat bold choice that does not bring positive results. Firstly, it gives the impression that it might have been a lazy decision, as Beckett is far from being a heroic, memorable or established character in the same way as other films with eponymous titles like Spartacus, Jason Bourne or John Carter could be. Secondly, the title could be interpreted as a last minute choice, which is further proven by the fact that its original title was Born to be Murdered -a much better title in my humble opinion-. At any rate, Beckett is an everyday man in the sense that he has no specific skill or knowledge that can take him out of the pickle he finds himself into. This has a positive and a negative effect at the same time. On the one hand, it is easier to establish a connection with a more relatable character that is thrust upon a conspiracy and Washington proves again he is a great actor by making the most of a not very charismatic protagonist who barely speaks throughout the film -kind of like what he did with his Protagonist on Tenet-. On the other hand, any initial relatability the character might have had is thrown out of the window every time that Beckett finds his way out of any predicament despite not being sure of what is happening and keeps getting injured and yet he still has the stamina and chops of a trained professional.

Washington’s character does not feel well drawn in quite a few moments of the story, just a mere pawn in a plot that moves forward without him knowing what is going on, making some parts of the film stumble ahead without an apparent direction. While it could be said that this is done on purpose to produce the feeling of being also lost, without the elements to try and figure out what is happening, the audience might feel as if there is nowhere interesting to go and nothing to do. However, this is not the only issue in relation with the script, as the rest of the characters are flat, existing only to help or stop Beckett’s quest to uncover the truth, which translates to having actors like Vikander, Vicky Krieps or Boyd Holbrook with not much to do.    

All in all, Beckett is a film that seems unsure of what it wants to be on the first place. At times it feels closer to a more traditional action thriller and then it shifts to a more dramatic film and, although Washington handles what the script throws at him, the film suffers every time there is a shift in the story, as it is neither a good actioner nor a good drama.