Beauty

François van Heerden leads an orderly life in Bloemfontein, South Africa, as a devoted husband and father of two daughters. Emotionally shut down and resigned to a life he regards as failed, he is unprepared when a chance encounter unsettles his controlled existence. Christian, 23, the son of an old acquaintance, embodies youth and confidence, and François becomes fixated on him. What follows is a conflict between the life François has built and desires he has long kept hidden, driving him toward a fixation he cannot master.

Skoonheid, released internationally as Beauty, is a 2011 drama and thriller directed by Oliver Hermanus, who wrote the screenplay with Didier Costet; Costet also produced. It was the first of the director's features, followed by Moffie, Living and The History of Sound. Deon Lotz plays François and Charlie Keegan plays Christian, with Michelle Scott, Albert Maritz, Roeline Daneel and Sue Diepeveen among the credited cast of 50. The film runs 101 minutes and was produced by companies in South Africa, Germany and France.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 6.3 from around 2,100 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 5.8 from 35 votes. The larger IMDb sample and modest score suggest a film that drew limited but engaged attention, with viewers divided.