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Beta Test (The) (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Arrow Films Review written by and copyright: Paul Lewis (11th July 2023). |
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The Film
  The Beta Test (Jim Cummings & PJ McCabe, 2021)
Released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video, Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe’s The Beta Test extends the cinema of quietly awkward discomfort with which Cummings allied himself in 2018’s Thunder Road. Here and in Thunder Road, Cummings mines a similar vein of uncomfortable social interactions, framed in a blackly comic manner, to contemporaneous European filmmakers such as Ruben Östlund. (Östlund has claimed that “all my films are about people trying to avoid losing face,” and this premise may also be applied to Cummings’ work.) The Beta Test opens in a lush house in Los Angeles, where a woman, Andrea, is brutally murdered by her husband after she reveals that she wishes to leave him. The reason for Andrea’s decision to end her marriage, she claims, is owing to an anonymous sexual encounter in which she participated; this event was precipitated by Andrea receiving a purple envelope containing a letter inviting her to meet a stranger for sex. Soon afterwards, highly-strung Hollywood talent agent Jordan Hines (Cummings) receives a similar envelope. Jordan is in the process of preparing for his upcoming wedding to his fiancée, Caroline (Virginia Newcomb). Seeking something new and exciting, Jordan responds to the proposition offered to him within the envelope, and he meets a woman for sex in a hotel. Both wear blindfolds throughout in order to keep their identities secret from one another. Jordan’s behaviour changes subtly, and Caroline begins to suspect that he is having an affair. When Jordan’s acquaintance, Chinese film investor Raymond Lee (Wilky Lau) is killed by his wife after she discovers that Raymond has also had an anonymous sexual encounter following receipt of a purple envelope, Jordan becomes intent on identifying the individual who is distributing the envelopes.  Focusing on talent agent Jordan Hines, whose life threatens to unravel following an incidence of sexual indiscretion, The Beta Test sets its sights firmly on the milieu of Hollyweird. The film’s examination of this context – the importance of secrets within it, and the contrast between the public and the private – recalls such pictures as Alexander Mackendrick’s The Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Bernard Rose’s Ivans xtc. (2000, the Arrow Video Blu-ray release of which was reviewed by us here), and Paul Schrader/Bret Easton Ellis’s The Canyons (2013).
Like The Canyons in particular, The Beta Test employs some of the narrative paradigms of the thriller. There’s a sense of a whodunit plot in Jordan’s attempts to identify who is sending the purple envelopes – and what their motive may be. However, this is arguably an example of misdirection: at its heart, The Beta Test is about a “rake’s progress.” The “rake” in this instance is the flashy, overconfident talent agent, and his journey through the film is towards a sense of self-realisation that is only partially achieved. If Jordan Hines has something of Bret Easton Ellis’ Patrick Bateman about him, the final sentence of American Psycho may just as well be presented via an onscreen title at the end of The Beta Test: “This is not an exit.” The Beta Test’s immediate context is clear from the get-go. This is a story about the sexual climate of Hollyweird, and the deconstruction of hitherto assumed privilege, in the post-#MeToo era. “You really did this, in this climate?” Jordan’s business partner PJ (PJ McCabe) asks disbelievingly when Jordan tells him of his anonymous encounter at the hotel. The implication is clear: sex is a battleground, and negotiating sex may be considered tantamount to navigating through a minefield, with concomitant risk of exposure and accusation. “Television makes us out to be angry, petty people,” Jordan says at a party earlier in the film, “but a lot of that aspect of the film industry went out with Harvey.” This is a Hollywood that is characterised by toxic, entitled behaviour. The allusion to Weinstein and his association with sexual exploitation and assault anchors The Beta Test to this era – as does Raymond Lee’s (Wilky Lau) assertion that talent agents are becoming irrelevant. (“We don’t need agents,” Raymond tells Jordan, “You are a dying social network, and everyone can’t wait to watch you fall apart.”)  Jordan’s discomfort at the new sexual terrain and its implication for office politics is highlighted in a scene in which he converses with his assistant, Jacqueline. Noting that Jordan is in a good mood, Jacqueline asks (or seems to ask) “Did you wife sit on your face this morning?” Unsure whether he has misheard his assistant, Jordan reflects on this and, later, decides to confront Jacqueline: he asks her if she said what he thought she said, but says he is unable to repeat It because of “the new direction this agency and the country is going.”
The role of Raymond, as a Chinese investor in Hollywood films, nods towards Hollywood’s fascination with Chinese money and markets. The absurdity of Hollywood’s deals with China are foregrounded when Jordan tells Caroline that there are plans to “remake Caddyshack with dogs,” with Tiger Woods attached in a key role. Raymond also falls prey to the purple envelope scheme, and is murdered by his wife following the revelation that Raymond – a closeted gay/bisexual man – has had an anonymous sexual encounter with another man. As the film opens, Jordan is introduced as a chauvinistic character with a wandering eye. Nothing much changes by the end of the picture: though the “threat” presented by the purple envelopes has been quelled, in the film’s final moments Jordan finds himself tempted to stray from his relationship with Caroline owing to being given the “come on” by a pretty waitress. Though his marriage to Caroline is soon to occur when the film begins, after receiving the mysterious purple envelope it seems that Jordan’s interest in other members of the opposite sex is piqued. Despite the dangers presented by the scenario (is it, or is it not, a “honey pot”?), Jordan decides to go ahead. The possibilities presented by the envelope (and the proposition it contains) seem enticing because the world in which Jordan moves is largely defined by repression. It’s a world of stifling corporate meetings, soundtracked by classical music, and set in sterile office environments filled with glass and steel. When Jordan completes and returns the slip that is included in the purple envelope, he is asked to list a variety of fetishes that he wishes to indulge in. These include extreme practices such as choking and S/M, which (it seems safe to assume) Caroline does not allow Jordan to practice in their relationship.  The existential crisis that Jordan faces – that the relevance of the talent agent for modern Hollywood is, as Raymond suggests, “falling apart” – and Jordan’s desire for anonymous sex come together in the scene in which Jordan visits the hotel where he is to meet the stranger for their shared sexual encounter. The scene is lit low; the pair wearing blindfolds throughout their interaction. The passionate sex is intercut with shots of Jordan ecstatically putting filmmaking deals together on the telephone, affirming the equivalence that Jordan seems to experience between fucking and success in his business.
Though this is the first feature film that Cummings and McCabe have directed together, they demonstrate an absolute confidence in their collaborative filmmaking method. In the lead role, Cummings brings an anxious energy to Jordan, who always seems to be bubbling up with paranoia. At one point, Jordan tells Caroline, “I have this fear all the time that there’s this crowd of people crowding around me, judging me, waiting for me to slip up so they can tar and feather me.” That the culprit behind the scheme is revealed to be nothing more than an unthreatening computer nerd (named “Johnny Paypal”) who exploits his victims’ Internet search histories, suggests Cummings and McCabe are endeavouring to say something about Internet anonymity and its relationships with public figures. “I fucking hate the Internet!” Jordan rants towards the end of the film, “I just want it to be the early 2000s. I want to be young again.” Don’t we all?!
Video
 The Beta Test runs for 93:21 mins, and is presented on the Blu-ray in 1080p and using the AVC codec.
The film is presented in the 2.35:1 ratio. Photographed digitally, in colour, on the Arri Alexa, The Beta Test was finished in 2k. The digital photography is quite handsome. There is careful attention to light and shadow, and whilst much of the palette is naturalistic there are some vivid bursts of colour – both deep, cold blues and fiery reds, in particular. Low-light scenes are highly effective, and this encode to disc of a digitally-shot feature displays some pleasing contrast levels. The midtones taper off into the toe, with some consistent detail in the shadows; meanwhile, highlights are for the most part balanced and evocative. The encode to disc presents no problems: there are no distracting encoding artifacts or anything of that ilk. NB. Some full-sized screengrabs are included at the bottom of this review. Please click to enlarge them.
Audio
There are two audio options on the disc: a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, and a LPCM 2.0 track. Both are lossless, and evidence depth and clarity within the dialogue. Low frequencies are handled well, and there is no demonstrable “clipping.” The 5.1 track has a more immersive soundscape, but feels a little “thin” in comparison with the LPCM 2.0 track. Optional English subtitles for the Hard of Hearing are included on the disc. These are easy to read, and accurate in transcribing the dialogue.
Extras
 The disc contents are as follows.
DISC ONE - The Film - Audio commentary by Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe. In their first audio commentary, which Cummings hopes “is not jibberish,” the filmmakers discuss the financing and production of The Beta Test. They suggest the opening was intended to be “Michael Mann style,” and talk about how the film was crowd-funded. They suggest that the film would never have been made if they had had to rely on conventional sources of film financing. There is some detailed discussion of the locations used in the film. The pair also talk about some of the challenges they faced: for example, their realisation that the pivotal hotel scene needed to be underexposed in order to be convincingly enigmatic. It’s an excellent, lively commentary track; it’s value lies in highlighting how independent films such as this need to work with different, Twenty First Century-specific funding models. - “Sex, Lies and Purple Envelopes” (11:01). Critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas narrates a video essay about The Beta Test. Heller-Nicholas focuses on the film’s depiction of violence, suggesting that in the film “sex, death and keeping up appearances are […] all dangerously intertwined.” She refers to Jordan as “the bastard love child of Jim Carrey and Jimmy Carr, with a sprinkle of Patrick Bateman thrown in for good measure.” She argues that Jordan is an unlikeable character – describing him as “shallow, disloyal and […] actively cruel” – but the film manages to encourage the audience to invest themselves in his dilemma. He is an insecure man, “an embodied human cartography of toxic masculinity.” The incident that incites Jordan to explore the possibilities offered by the purple envelope is, Heller-Nicholas argues, his humiliation by Raymond Lee. She suggests that the “whodunit” aspect of the film is unimportant: the notion of who is behind the scheme pales in comparison with the film’s exploration of why its victims are predisposed to participating in it. Ultimately, the film explores the “spiritual malaise of the wealthy.” - “The Making of The Beta Test” (21:35). This featurette opens with an interview with Jim Cummings, who explores how he came to be involved in filmmaking. He discusses his early career, and making of Thunder Road, which “launched the team into stardom” following its success at Sundance. He and PJ McCabe decided to make a film together, and devised the premise of The Beta Test. We are also presented with footage of Cummings and McCabe’s short pitch assembled for potential investors in the film, and subsequently Cummings discusses the financing of the film in a vlog-style segment. We also see some behind the scenes footage of the production of the picture, highlighting Cummings and McCabe’s approach to directing scenes. 
- “Trapped. Hiding. Boom” (16:32). Critic Guy Adams narrates a video essay that focuses on the depiction of hotels in cinema. He reflects on Psycho, The Shining, and Tobe Hooper’s Death Trap/Eaten Alive. Suggesting that hotel rooms are liminal, Adams highlights hotels as places of disgust, and suggests these spaces are often used as “turning points” within film narratives. It’s an interesting piece, though one wonders whether there is a true sense of equivalence between the definitively American “motel” and the more universal “hotel.” - Trailers: Trailer 1 (1:44); Trailer 2 (1:39). - Image Gallery (81 images). DISC TWO: - The Minutes Collection: “Parent Teacher” (17:38); “Cory Comes to Christmas” (17:17); “The Stop” (12:42); “Marty Also included is “Minutes: Behind the Scenes” (4:22), a short featurette about the making of the Minutes films. - “Us Funny” (15:33). This is the 2016 short, directed by Cummings with Julia Bales. It features Cummings and Bales as a couple (Jim and Julia) whose date is set against Jim’s outburst of grief at the funeral of Julia. The awkward levity of Cummings and Bales’ interactions is placed in counterpoint with Jim and Julia’s awareness of their responsibilities for one another, and finally the sense of grief Cummings’ character experiences at the death of his love. - “Sundance 2016” (31:11). Filmed in 2016, this features Cummings talking about the making of the original Thunder Road short film, in anticipation of it being screened that year’s Sundance festival. We follow Cummings through his experiences at the 2016 Sundance festival. Though this resembles a documentary (and there’s a sense of verisimilitude to the subject matter), this is a narrative short, however, filled with the moments of humour deriving from socially awkward scenarios that we see in Thunder Road and The Beta Test. - “Sundance 2017” (27:18). Similar to the previous feature on this disc, this sees Dustin Hahn visit Sundance with “The Robbery,” the short film he made with PJ McCabe.
Overall
 As the film’s final sequences hammer home, The Beta Test is ultimately a picture about the world and its relationship with the digital sphere, reminding us that the Internet is a place where privacy is bought, sold, given away, and where data may be harvested for all sorts of nefarious purposes. Beneath this is an expose of the hollowness of the lives of Hollyweird’s privileged. More than anything else, The Beta Test feels very much in tune with Bret Easton Ellis (and, as noted above, Ellis’ much maligned collaboration with Paul Schrader, The Canyons): there is a sense throughout Cummings and McCabe’s picture of the existential emptiness of Jordan’s life, and in fact Jordan (and his impending marriage to Caroline) is somewhat reminiscent of Ellis most famous creation, Patrick Bateman.
As in Thunder Road, Cummings is excellent here, as an awkward, inarticulate individual who experiences an escalating sense of panic is the narrative unfolds. “I think the world’s gonna become a horrible place,” Jordan reflects as the film heads towards its conclusion, “It’s a place that I have no control over.” The world may, for all of the Jordans in existence, be somewhere were a loss of control is palpable. However, Arrow demonstrate superb control of their skills in this Blu-ray release of The Beta Test. A very pleasing presentation of the (digitally-shot) feature is accompanied by a truly excellent array of contextual material. Please click the screengrabs below to enlarge them to full size. 
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