If you’ve scrolled through Netflix’s catalogue as of late looking for new content to indulge in over a Friday night meal, chances are, you have ended up disappointed, food cold, and bingeing Harry Potter for the nth time.
‘However, ‘Beef’, Netflix’s new original series produced by A24, just might be the reason your subscription is worth keeping for now.
Created by Korea-born Director and Producer, Lee Sung Jin, the show stars Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead, Minari, Nope) and Ali Wong (Always Be My Maybe, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey).
‘Beef’ is a refreshing tragicomedy on a different level of viewing pleasure from the reality shows, romantic comedies and obscure documentaries that has run rife in Netflix’s recent output of content.
It is obvious from the jump that this series has a familiar A24 feel with its cinematography, courtesy of ‘Everything, Everywhere All At Once’ alum, Larkin Seiple. The series begins with a road rage incident in a parking lot, a simple act of aggression which pushes two characters of drastically different social classes to pursue their aggression onto the road. It is this trivial act which then divulges and manifests into a thirst for revenge which cannot seem to be quenched. Throughout each episode, we are provided an alternating lens by which the series’ themes of revenge, classism and happiness are explored in escalating fashion.
‘Beef’ is paced perfectly, from the inciting road rage incident to the last episode, we follow Wong and Yeun’s characters go from grandiose plots for revenge which spiral their lives and the lives around them, to converging in a high stakes spiritual environment. It is in this unintended spiritual expedition that allows them to see that they are not in binary opposition, but on the same plain of existence seeking the same things in life.
There is much to enjoy about this series as it is ripe with phenomenal performances from Steven Yeun, Ali Wong and extending to its supporting cast Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, David Choe, and Patti Yasutake. The tone of the show is dynamic in that we feel each human experience but we also can’t help but laugh at the tragedy. It is reminiscent of a Shakespearean tragicomedy with its use of symbolism and artwork in the title cards complimenting the themes of the show as each episode the stakes grow and so does comedy, drama and rage.
‘Beef’ is truly a unique Netflix title that stands out. An intriguing web of plotlines that capture the quintessential human desire for happiness, its dark comedic approach also tackles social commentary on the modern day highly strung individual.
‘Beef’ is truly a welcome surprise in an era of mass produced Netflix content.
