Synopsis
On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie, an aimless teenager, suffocates under the oppressive glare cast by his family and a toxic group of delinquent friends. Struggling with his own identity, Frankie begins to scour hookup sites for older men.
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Cast
- Harris DickinsonFrankie
- Madeline WeinsteinSimone
- Kate HodgeDonna
- Neal HuffJoe
- Nicole FlyusCarla
- Frank HakajNick
- David IvanovAlexei
- Anton SelyaninovJesse
- Harrison SheehanJeremy
- Douglas Everett DavisHarry
Recommendations
- 100
The Playlist
If the film is tender, it’s merciless at the same time. - 90
The Hollywood Reporter
Eliza Hittman's second feature is very much the work of a filmmaker with her own distinctive voice, combining moody poetry with textural sensuality to evoke the dangerous recklessness that often accompanies sexual discovery. - 90
Variety
Writer-director Eliza Hittman has a sensitive ear for the way adolescents reveal themselves through evasion: It’s a tension crucial to this anxious, tactile, profoundly sad study of a young man’s journey of sexual self-discovery and self-betrayal. - 83
IndieWire
With an energetic set of young actors liberated by Hittman’s jittery naturalism, the movie remains a gripping drama throughout — a combination that speaks to the director’s emerging aesthetic. - 83
The Film Stage
As a hyper-focused, dream-like portrait of a teenager grappling with both the conditions of his upbringing and a newfound identity, Beach Rats feels invigorating at very turn. - 80
The Guardian
Beach Rats is a captivating character study and one that feels vital. - 77
TheWrap
Beach Rats has an experiential, almost docudrama aesthetic whose lived-in authenticity is in keeping with that of the film as a whole. - 60
Screen Daily
Fate is a blunt instrument here. Yet you still wind up asking for more depth from the characters for whom Hittman is asking you to feel something.
