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Beats (18)

Beats (18)

Drama

Scottish drama, set in 1994, in which two teenage friends whose lives are taking different paths share one last experience of their love of rave culture.


The critical consensus

Despite a rocky start, Beats manages to evolve into something much greater than just another ‘party movie’, but still has a killer soundtrack to boot, and might possibly have introduced Scotland to a few future stars.

****(*)Johnny Owens, Review Sphere, 03/03/2019

Anyone nostalgic for glow-sticks and whistles will find the euphoric climax leaving them begging for one more tune.

****(*)Eddie Harrison, The List, 03/03/2019

It’s really when Welsh transforms the final act into an extended abstract rave sequence – replete with the movie’s only flashes of colour – that the film fully comes into its own, transcending the familiar elements of the genre to capture the ephemeral nature of this scene in all its blissed-out, impossible-to-sustain glory.

***(*)(*)Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 04/03/2019

Coming on like Shane Meadows at 140BPM, Beats is a truly heartfelt rites-of-passage tale — an immersive, intoxicating portrayal of the rave scene at its peak.

****(*)Dan Jolin, Empire Online, 15/05/2019

Beginning in kitchen-sink territory on a Scottish estate, this teen bromance eventually escapes into amiable nostalgia and artful euphoria.

***(*)(*)Mike McCahill, The Guardian, 16/05/2019

A vibrant American Graffiti for Britain’s ’90s rave scene.

****(*)Josh Slater-Williams, Little White Lies, 17/05/2019

Two teenagers find their friendship tested in Brian Welsh’s terrific evocation of 90s Britain.

****(*)Wendy Ide, The Observer, 19/05/2019


Features about Beats (18)

Kieran Hurley--Beats the Movie

Neil Cooper, Coffee-Table Notes, 14/02/2019

Beats, rhymes and strife: how ravers raised the roof on mass protest.

Libby Brooks, The Guardian, 17/05/2019

Beats: Behind the scenes of the riotous Glaswegian film's 1,500-strong warehouse rave.

Liam Turbett, The Independent, 18/05/2019

Where and when?

General release. Check local listings for show times.

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