Support Frock Flicks with a small donation! During Snark Week and beyond, we’re grateful for your monthly pledges for exclusive content via Patreon or your one-time contributions via Ko-fi or PayPal to offset the costs of running this site. You can even buy our T-shirts and merch. Think of this like supporting public broadcasting, but with swearing and no tax deductions!
Beyond the Mask (2015) is a historical Christian adventure/romance set in the 18th century. As I’ve previously mentioned, I have a quest to watch all the 18th-century-set films in existence. But, of course, there are clunkers I constantly put off! This is one of them, so I decided to suck it up for snark week and dip my toe in this fiesta of not-great. Yesterday, I recapped the first half of this half-hearted attempt of a film, today let’s finish things out!
William goes on a crusade, wearing a mask and at night, to attack the bad guys (mostly Gimli’s henchmen) and rescue babies. He’s gaining a reputation, and Franklin names him “The Highwayman” — during the day he keeps working at the print shop.
Gimli seethes, while his wig continues to try to eat his eyebrows:
Ingenue wears a giant doily while Gimli plots:
She has dinner with a nice family. She starts talking about “the Highwayman,” the dad tells her to wait til the kids have gone to bed, mom reassures her “but we do want to hear your perspective!” Awkward dialogue ahoy.
Baddies break in and grab dad to tar and feather him. William arrives in disguise to rescue him and one of the kids who gets held as a hostage. I won’t insult your intelligence by screencapping all the nighttime swashbuckling.
The next day, Ingenue arrives at the print shop with her own written account of what happened, proclaiming “the Highwayman is a hero!”
As Gimli gets more pissed, his wig continues to creep down his face. He tells Ingenue that she was naughty to have dinner with the nice family and she should stay home for now.
Ingenue’s hair has gone full “I’m 14 and trying out for cheerleading”:
William sneaks a note to Ingenue, asking her to meet him on the balcony at night. She comes out in a weird cross-over, front-laced, back-zippered dressing gown:
They have a tête-à-tête wherein William reveals who he is, that he’s trying to find redemption and be worthy of her love, and warns her that Uncle Gimli is a baddie. She’s not sure what to think!
Gimli comes out in a full Sparkle Motion(TM) Indian jacket. While obviously Indian clothing has a long history, something tells me this is a pretty modern iteration, and no explanation is offered.
Gimli tells Ingenue that there’s a masked ball in New York. My response:
The ball does NOT fail to disappoint, with repeat shots of several dumpy outfits:
William shows up in his mask (SO UNRECOGNIZABLE) and in his standard jacket (Henchman to Gimli: “He’s wearing the jacket.” So it’s not just me!).
He’s uncovered a plot to attack George Washington, who is at the party:
Gimli wears his standard shitty wig/lace bib look; Ingenue borrows a costume from Da Vinci’s Demons for the occasion:
Her hair is full modern-messy prom updo:
I at first want to resist screencapping Yet Another Bad Wig on this guy who’s talking to Washington, but after the third time I’ve seen it I can’t resist:
I then cackle when I get this front shot:
William tries to save Washington, but Gimli arranges things so it looks like he’s attacking him. Gimli outs William for being the Evil Doer of India. William tries to defend himself by saying he has documents that prove Gimli is evil; Gimli points out that if William has had these documents for nine months, why hasn’t he gone to the authorities and prevented all the bad stuff that’s been happening in Philadelphia? Washington orders that William be hung or drawn and quartered or whatever in the morning. As he’s being taken away, Ingenue confronts him about holding out with the dirt; William says he’s been trying to prove himself worthy of her love, but she hits him with the whole “he could have prevented things.” They talk about god.
Later, Ingenue overhears Gimli plotting with his henchmen and realizes he IS evil. We cut to a prison ship, where William is being held. Ingenue shows up in a decent riding habit. She saves William by jumping overboard (when it was previously established that she can’t swim?), giving him a chance to knock out his guards and jump in after her.
She comes out of the water with her makeup intact (props to the setting spray). William gets himself out of his chains somehow and saves them from soldiers in a boat.
Ingenue sends William off to save the Continental Congress, which is supposed to vote on the Declaration of Independence today but Gimli is planning to blow things up. Somehow Ingenue’s hair has dried like this:
William shows up to save Congress; he fights with guards blah blah but somehow saves the day. Franklin looks turned on:
Oh god, and then I start fast-forwarding because Ingenue has been kidnapped by Gimli who has some underground lair using electricity based on Franklin’s experiments to make bombs (which have been showing up throughout but who cares), and he goes full Bond villain explaining things to her:
William shows up, buckles are swashed, and he saves the day. They talk god. He proposes! They make out! I’m done!
Have you seen Beyond the Mask? Are you going to rush out right now to watch it? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Find this frock flick at:
Ingenue is mostly team Beachy Waves!
Why does the bomb-making machine look like a repurposed light fixture? Also OED attributes the first use of the word socialite to a March 1893 article in the Chattanooga Sunday Times, so… time travelling newspaper publishers?
Or psychic!
Pity this isn’t one of those “so bad it’s good” type of films. Thank you for taking one from the team – I don’t think I would have made it through ten minutes. I do have a nit to pick – a former co-worker from the 90s is now the official Mt. Vernon George Washington. I think he’d be spitting out his coffee if he saw the awful costume on this iteration of George. For one, the hat looks too small. Most importantly, there are multiple renderings of Washington in his uniform which was buff and blue. No red since the French and Indian Wars. The wig is poor fitting, the cravat is a mess, the waistcoat is too short – he could be some rando sloppy officer that Washington would have disciplined for looking a mess. When one out of two historical people in the film looks this bad, the costumer should hang their head in shame. You don’t pull some random uniform from stock for the father of the nation. There are plenty of period correct reproduction costumes available. But then again, my response to 90% of the screencaps has been WTF – so carry on…
In the Gazette, Charlotte would have been called ‘a Young Lady of Quality’
I was about to say the exact same thing. It was considered controversial for a woman to put her name on any written work until the Victorian era, especially if it was in any way political or not domestic.
The Ingenue honestly looks like a very blonde Mary Tamm…. I was having flashbacks.
Could have saved themselves $10 Washington didn’t wear a wig.
You beat me to it. I was about to post the same thing.
I do enjoy cackling at those shitty wigs! And I need to add how that dumb note is written with a sharpie, not even trying to look ye olde timey.
My God, no wonder the British Empire held the 13 Colonies in such contempt of THIS is the latter’s version of sartorial splendour and a slap-up party,
Honestly, I think we’ve just discovered the reason New York City and Philadelphia fell to the might of British arms during the conflict: they clearly wanted a dose of sartorial splendour and the Congress was NOT delivering.
Also, OF COURSE Ben Franklin is having a high old time: he’s thinking “Where buckles are swashed, there’s always a love interest: where there’s a love interest a lot of ladies are destined to be disappointed … right up until old Ben Franklin offers himself as a man tailored head to toe in Rebound Material”).
Of course, as every proper historian knows – never you mind that slanderous amateur Barney Stinson! – the Bro Code was originated by that tragic duo Major John Andre and General Benedict Arnold, but the work of Doctor Franklin undoubtedly offered up a vast body of precedent.
You know, being a he-hussy and a gallant old rascal.