There’s been alot of buzz about “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, it took home top honors at both Sundance and Cannes. Now we can see it for ourselves and I for one can’t wait. Why? Because Quvenzhane Wallis is a pint-sized powerhouse that can’t be denied. And because the story is about black love—-between a father and a daughter. How often do we get to see that? Okay, so they’re poor and they live in the Bayou but they’re are far from woe is me characters.
Quvenzhane plays Hushpuppy the central character of the film and apparently this 8-year-old (who never acted before) has folks riveted to the screen. Beth Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times describes her as:
She’s a string bean of a girl with the eyes of Wednesday’s child of woe and the indomitable spirit of a warrior. When she pounds a table and yells “I am ‘da man’ it comes from such an authentic place that it’s clear this is a serious talent to be reckoned with.
She is the film’s central narrator and the dialogue the writers have given her reaches a level of poetic balladry that nearly sings of grit and determination.
But what impressed me even more is the role she played in getting Dwight Henry cast as her father. Apparently, this young lady didn’t like the two men who auditioned prior to Henry and told the director, Behn Zeitlin as much. She didn’t trust them and she knew she needed to. But Henry, who usually works as a baker, brought her cookies and a brownie and she knew he was the one. The actors discuss their work together on a video on The Hollywood Reporter. And to sound like one of our elders, this little girl sounds like she’s been here before.
Love this story because Quvenzhane is example of what our daughters can do when we encourage their lights to shine. Yes, even in Hollywood where we know the odds are stacked against us. That’s not deterring her, she’s saying what’s on her mind and delivering an amazing performance. She’s Black Girl power at it’s best. Authentic.
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