Simon Dillon reviews the offbeat, atmospheric gem

Beasts of the Southern Wild has received rave reviews, but I have to say I feel it has been slightly over-praised. It isn't a bad film by any means. In fact it is lyrical, beautiful and rather moving. But I had gone expecting to be overwhelmed. As it turned out, I was merely whelmed.

The plot provides a potent mixture of gritty realism and the mystical imaginings of childhood innocence, but without a shred of sentimentality. Essentially it's a sort-of fairy tale as nine year old Hush Puppy (the brilliant Quvenzhane Wallis), her terminally ill father and their neighbours struggle to survive following a great storm (which may or may not have been Hurricane Katrina). Amid these apocalyptic difficulties, Hush Puppy attempts to track down her long lost mother, but at the same time is aware of a herd of giant, monstrous Aurochs that have emerged from the melting polar icecaps to track her down.

The Aurochs are clearly intended as a metaphor of some kind, or a part of Hush Puppy's vivid imagination, but their surreal presence is quite breathtaking amid the harsh realities of films flooded landscapes. They could symbolise any number of things - fear, her father's illness, officials who are trying to force a mandatory evacuation, and so forth. But in the end it hardly matters. The tough love relationship between father and daughter is what lies at the core of the piece, and it is quite touching. In particular, the performance of Quvenzhane Wallis is astonishing and could well end up Oscar nominated.

Benh Zeitlin directs with a meditative, thoughtful, Malick-esque flair, recalling in places The Tree of Life, and to be honest there is very little to dislike about the film (unless one wants to get nit-picky in spiritual terms about arguably New Age messages). However, Beasts of the Southern Wild isn't the masterpiece many have claimed. What it is, is a decidedly offbeat, atmospheric gem directed with passion and heart, and well worth a look with adjusted expectations.