The year 2044 is so quiet, so peaceful, so terrifyingly balanced in The Beast that the subsequent journey through the 134 years allows breathing room again. For a few minutes. Because director Bertrand Bonello (Nocturama) has surprises in store for the rest of his science fiction film, the images of which will haunt you for a long time.
The Beast is the best film so far at this year’s Venice Festival and a sci-fi masterpiece that expertly blends reality and fiction. A film that makes you rave one minute and plunges you into existential despair the next.
In the future of The Beast, feelings must be erased
Léa Seydoux (James Bond: No Time To Die) and George MacKay (1917) star in the tale of oppression. Her characters Gabrielle and Louis are encountered in The Beast in three time planes: 2044, 2014 and 1910.
In the year 2044, thanks to the mechanization of processes, humans have largely become superfluous and are subject to the domination of artificial intelligence. Gabrielle undergoes a DNA purification procedure to qualify for a better job. With her we review dramatic memories of previous lives.
Art France
The Beast
The procedure is intended to drive out their feelings or, more simply, to grind them down to a puppet. Dolls like those made by Gabrielle’s husband in Paris in 1910. This Gabrielle meets the charming Louis. They could share something like love, their attraction to each other is undeniable. Both enter into a gentle dialogue dance, stroll through salons and boulevards, they are ancestors of Celine and Jesse in the Before films. However, fear prevents the next step. Gabrielle suffers from the premonition that a terrible event is about to happen to her.
is the beast a man For example Louis in 2014, a misogynist Virgo who wants revenge on the world. In Los Angeles, the incel films his tirade, which Bonello took from the manifesto of real-life misogynistic terrorist Elliot Rodger. Meanwhile, lonely actress Gabrielle struggles through the City of Angels, obsessed with fear of tragedy.
Science fiction, costume films and thrillers are interwoven
The sci-fi drama is loosely based on Henry James’ short story The Beast in the Jungle (another film adaptation was screened at the Berlinale 2023). From this, Bonello develops an amazing genre mix of science fiction, costume drama and home invasion thriller. The thriller part forms the main part of the film. In the surreal, sunny LA mood, David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive comes to life before terror breaks out in a mansion.
Between Hollywood Hills, Belle Époque and visions of the future, the melancholy of Léa Seydoux’ Gabrielle is a touching constant. Her consuming fear of the unknown eats through the time planes.
In contrast, George MacKay makes an amazing transformation from gentleman to clumsy loner who screams his hatred into the YouTube void. Together they form a fascinating acting duet that anchors the film in what will be seen as a lack in the future: in feeling.
Art France
The Beast
The Beast is not a simple film that serves all interpretations on the platter. If you get involved with Bertrand Bonello’s work, one experiences a 134-year-spanning duet of the longing for lovesurpassed only by the fear of losing love.
The narrative of the suppression of feelings is contemporary and timeless. She looks at isolation in the online age, as well as the crippling worry of making wrong decisions. Each of the three years in The Beast reflects our 2020s battered by pandemic, climate and other catastrophes. Great science fiction takes a look through the future to the present. In The Beast, three time levels are arranged for us as a hall of mirrors. Enter at your own risk.
The Beast does not have a German release date yet.