Great vibes to this one, love the frantic editing and cinematography choices in places. The sister was very cool
After fleeing his mistakes in Atlanta to crash with his sister in Boston, a self-destructive street bucket drummer repeatedly undermines his own fresh start, dragging everyone around him into the fallout of his feral behavior.
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Cast & crew
6What people say
Shoutout to all the Bostonians who tipped me while I was drumming in this movie🤘🏼
2026 Films (Ranked)Underseen/Underrated FilmsAs soon as I saw the poster for this on the letterboxd video store & then read the description I fell in love with the idea of this film and haven’t stopped thinking about it since; but I didn’t wanna spend £16 on a 2 day rental for a project by someone I’ve never seen anything from. But I legit couldn’t stop thinking about it so I just bit the bullet and bought it. Oh I’m so glad I did. Considering my 2nd favourite film of all time is Inside Llewyn Davis, it’s no secret at all that I adore “fake” music focused biopics but most importantly - films about down on their luck artists I think it would be very easy to dislike our protagonist in other circumstances, he is a thief, he is a liar, he is deeply flawed; which can all certainly be a downfall to a film like this but thankfully it is written precisely enough to maintain all of his inadequacies whilst still showing off his heart and pure drumming talent. - ofcourse the character also has to have a great performance to match it Which in this case it very much does:Daniel Rashid was a class act. Music in general is one of the most magnetic and hypnotic creations humans have ever made and with that comes oh so many drawbacks and self-sabotaging undercurrents that compromise every sense of stability whether you look at the best of the best of the best or in this case a quite novel street performer. So with that being said it fell on the shoulders of Daniel Rashid to embody all of that weight and whether it’s because he looks like a disheveled artist before he even opened his mouth but he nailed it imo. - The supporting roles & actors (Addie Weyrich & Arkira Chantaratananond) also did a great job at bringing a more rounded warmth & a more authentic emotional experience than what it would be like if it was just a lone street performing film like what I was half expecting. With every outing he took performing in the streets and the people he met through that, it got more and more difficult to ignore the uneasy relationship between art, survival, freedom and capitalism that just seems to bury its way in no matter how hard you try to stray away from the corporate route. Boston being the backdrop for this is probably my favourite choice of the whole film. The everyday textures of the worn out streets & building interluding with moments of pure musical release really reinforced the tightrope walking of our protagonists life. Really great choiceIt’s only 90mIt’s got amazing music It’s got Rich themes It’s got great performances It’s raw with some crazy energy to it It’s just really great.Check this one out. Deserves to have way more than 500 watches. My Top 250
Common questions
What is Downbeat about?+
A troubled street bucket drummer flees Atlanta to crash with his sister in Boston, repeatedly sabotaging his fresh start through reckless behavior.
Who directed Downbeat?+
Danny Madden directed Downbeat in 2026 following his earlier work on Beast Beast.
Where can you watch Downbeat?+
Downbeat premiered at SXSW in 2026 and has been distributed through independent digital storefronts.
