Though it's really way too long, I did rather enjoy the developing chemistry here between Léa Seydoux ("Gabrielle") and George MacKay's "Louis". The story isn't really structured, it's all largely dictated from her consciousness lounging in the bath of Guinness no longer needed by "Baron Harkkonen" where she is having her DNA cleansed. This is ostensibly to make her life happier and more fulfilled, to take the rough edges off disappointment and pain - and generally to turn her into a rather soporific drone. The thing is, whilst plugged in and gently soaking we discover that her brain isn't co-operating with the process and that she is having very lifelike fantasies - historical, contemporary and futuristic with the handsome and enigmatic "Louis". The story in itself isn't really up to very much. It's an episodic jaunt through what is/was/might be their lives - together and apart. What does work well is the ambiguity. The sense that artificial intelligence, either working on it's own or at the behest of humanity, can rearrange our thoughts and our memories. It can create as convincingly as it can delete comprehensively - and all because there is a sense that emotions are unpredictable, unreliable and therefore a threat to the stability of a new "natural order". The dialogue can meander into the realms of psycho-babble now and again which does detract from the subtle but clear thrust of the narrative, but it is actually quite a scary prognosis of what might become fact if we are not careful to protect what is real and important.
13 Reviews
A strange filmic object, for many but not for everyone.
barnabaponchielli27 September 2023
This "La bête" is a strange filmic object, a science fiction melodrama between Lynch, Cronemberg and the minimalism of certain French experimental cinematography a la Godard, also touching on liminal oriental aesthetics, between the kitsch of a Sion Siono and the intellectualism of a Tsukamoto or a Park Chan-wook. The result is an exhausting aesthetic requiem, which romantically travels through time to forget it and make it forget (purify it in its DNA), a bit like the Gondry of "Eternal Sunshine..." and "La Science des rêves", but always cold and inexpressive, almost, in the extreme (in)expressive nuances of Léa Seydoux's face and in the icy looks of the substitute George MacKay (the film was written for the late Gaspard Ulliel). Freely inspired by Henry James's 1903 story "The Beast in the Jungle", Bonello's film talks about love and fear as engines of revolutions and annihilation, necessary but mysterious upheavals. Bonello's first attempt at sci-fi themes claims the right to transmute cinematographic language in an attempt to give a new original form to the unspeakable: the operation is halfway successful, in my opinion, because it fascinates aesthetically but is a bit exhausting on a narrative level and form. One remains dumbfounded and tired after the two-hour-plus duration, visual snippets remain in memory a la Oneohtrix Point Never, one would almost think, crazy sensorial splinters from other eras that resonate inexplicably, perhaps evoking the most famous motto of Hildegard of Bingen "Composing unknown characters and making an unknown language resonate." A mysterious and fascinating cinematographic object, undoubtedly, but not of immediate enjoyment or assimilation, but capable of arousing reflections and reasoning after the fact: a film to be investigated, to dig into for satisfaction. For many but not for everyone.
When the Inland Empire is contaminated by artificial intelligence, you may end up being little more than a replicant
Falkner197620 April 2024
With RKO's horror films, Van Lewton, discovered a new cinematic terror, darkness, what you can't see. Now artificial intelligence, the metaverse, can create a reality that stalks you in an empty space, the invented reality, which can be an advertisement in which you end up hit by an invisible car or an acting test for a film in which you defend yourself with a knife from you really don't know what. Or it is a reality manufactured to satisfy our dreams, to erase misfortunes, to disguise that "other" reality in which our expectations are not met.
A world in which the objective is not to suffer, not to desire, to achieve an emotionally stabilized, more productive life, without error in decisions; a world where emotions are better left for dreams and that creates past lives tailored to your dreams, lives in which what goes wrong can always be eliminated, reworked into a better dream. A world in which the proof that you do not exist is that you have no digital footprint on the internet (well, this is no longer science fiction).
The protagonist is a pianist from the beginning of the 20th century who does not dare to abandon her husband and start a relationship with the man she has fallen in love with, because she has the feeling that a strange misfortune will destroy her or her lover if she does (again as in the RKO Cat People classic).
She is an aspiring actress model at the beginning of the 21st century, strangely incapable of maintaining the romantic relationship she needs, who makes a living taking care of other people's homes, just now a very luxurious one), in a world in which, once again, she finds herself, surprisingly, with the same man she always falls in love with, now another young man unable to dare to maintain a relationship.
Time and time again things seem to put love within reach, but for whatever reason, those realities end up being somewhat tricky, and readjust themselves until tragedy always arrives.
The protagonist is also (especially?) the young woman of a future with empty streets, advised by artificial intelligence, whose friends are robot dolls, and who wears virtual reality glasses. This young woman is dissatisfied with her job, unable to promote to a better one for being too human, and does not know whether to opt for an erasure of her past lives and eliminate traumatic experiences, at the risk of... ceasing to be herself. She is a young woman for whom that ataraxia is not really atractive, who does not want to renounce to imperfectly authentic emotions, and in that world of the future...there is that nightclub that dresses up in a different decade style every night, and where she surprisingly finds again the young man with whom she is obsessed.
La Bete is clearly indebted to the universe of David Lynch, especially Inland Empire and its matryoshka game (dolls within dolls, realities within realities), although now explained for all audiences and with a bath of conventionality, without the background, authenticity nor the infinite number of interpretations of Lynch (and certainly without his poetry), a safer and less authentically unsettling territory. We also get the awakening of Mulholland Drive, Roy Orbison's songs as in Blue Velvet, and even Laura Palmer's final scream.
There is also something of the existential terror of Blade Runner (or Do Androids dream of electric sheep?) and we could continue with many other borrowings.
But the truth is that these three hours fly by and keep you continually intrigued in a plot that never gets lost in ramblings and that likes to tie up all the ends. An intelligent science fiction film, with a very attractive and careful aesthetic, and which benefits from the magnificent performance of Léa Seydoux.
A world in which the objective is not to suffer, not to desire, to achieve an emotionally stabilized, more productive life, without error in decisions; a world where emotions are better left for dreams and that creates past lives tailored to your dreams, lives in which what goes wrong can always be eliminated, reworked into a better dream. A world in which the proof that you do not exist is that you have no digital footprint on the internet (well, this is no longer science fiction).
The protagonist is a pianist from the beginning of the 20th century who does not dare to abandon her husband and start a relationship with the man she has fallen in love with, because she has the feeling that a strange misfortune will destroy her or her lover if she does (again as in the RKO Cat People classic).
She is an aspiring actress model at the beginning of the 21st century, strangely incapable of maintaining the romantic relationship she needs, who makes a living taking care of other people's homes, just now a very luxurious one), in a world in which, once again, she finds herself, surprisingly, with the same man she always falls in love with, now another young man unable to dare to maintain a relationship.
Time and time again things seem to put love within reach, but for whatever reason, those realities end up being somewhat tricky, and readjust themselves until tragedy always arrives.
The protagonist is also (especially?) the young woman of a future with empty streets, advised by artificial intelligence, whose friends are robot dolls, and who wears virtual reality glasses. This young woman is dissatisfied with her job, unable to promote to a better one for being too human, and does not know whether to opt for an erasure of her past lives and eliminate traumatic experiences, at the risk of... ceasing to be herself. She is a young woman for whom that ataraxia is not really atractive, who does not want to renounce to imperfectly authentic emotions, and in that world of the future...there is that nightclub that dresses up in a different decade style every night, and where she surprisingly finds again the young man with whom she is obsessed.
La Bete is clearly indebted to the universe of David Lynch, especially Inland Empire and its matryoshka game (dolls within dolls, realities within realities), although now explained for all audiences and with a bath of conventionality, without the background, authenticity nor the infinite number of interpretations of Lynch (and certainly without his poetry), a safer and less authentically unsettling territory. We also get the awakening of Mulholland Drive, Roy Orbison's songs as in Blue Velvet, and even Laura Palmer's final scream.
There is also something of the existential terror of Blade Runner (or Do Androids dream of electric sheep?) and we could continue with many other borrowings.
But the truth is that these three hours fly by and keep you continually intrigued in a plot that never gets lost in ramblings and that likes to tie up all the ends. An intelligent science fiction film, with a very attractive and careful aesthetic, and which benefits from the magnificent performance of Léa Seydoux.
"The Human Aspect"
alexanderlavin20 October 2023
THE BEAST connected strongly with me and I recommend it to adventurous film lovers everywhere.
I wasn't sold on Bertrand Bonello until now. I'd passed over some of his stuff, and abandoned other movies he's directed midway into them just from exhaustion with his whole iconoclastic approach. This time, even though he's at his most freewheeling, it all works and it all pays off.
Bertrand Bonello and his stars bring the themes of Henry James' source material vividly alive with this picture. It's by no means a tidy unfolding, as nothing this director creates ever is, but it is unwieldy and eclectic in a way that builds out keen resonances for the audience. While we may rocket across epochs, juggling characters, shooting formats and story tones freely, we never lose sight of.what's on the line--which is no less than our unthinkable gall to surrender ourselves to love.
Lea Seydoux is a once-in-a-generation talent who commands the audience at every moment she's on screen, working within her typical economy but also a range not yet seen within a single feature. I completely lost myself in the exquisite beauty of what is, finally, pretty lonely suffering.
We all know that Seydoux can carry a picture, but it's George MacKay who really astounds in the second half of THE BEAST as he shifts personas from a hapless, hopeless romantic into a grimmer visage of loneliness.
The past comes alive in oddly quaint strokes, and the future stuff is nicely stripped down and to-the-point. Bonello sneaks from one thing to the next, ambling down the well-worn avenues but also taking the wrong corners in different genres--all within the same picture. I couldn't help but smile and recall our old buddy Nicholas Roeg.
The director and stars draw the audience through it all so resolutely--even elegantly--that by the time we reach our inevitable crescendo, it feels like something big, striking and important. So perfectly committed and weirdly balanced is its depictions of the human heart across time and territory that an internet clip of Korine-ian abjection sits at equal comfort alongside a stuffy aristocratic courtship. It's no fluke that gonzo neo-romantic Xavier Dolan punches in as co-producer here.
THE BEAST is a film that believes in "true love", not in some facile, precious way... but in that awestruck, abiding way that you feel when you encounter such a thing in real life. The palpable investment that its two leads ante up bolsters its power. Call it an instant classic of the least probable sort, and surely the best movie of this director's career. Has Leo Carax seen this??
I wasn't sold on Bertrand Bonello until now. I'd passed over some of his stuff, and abandoned other movies he's directed midway into them just from exhaustion with his whole iconoclastic approach. This time, even though he's at his most freewheeling, it all works and it all pays off.
Bertrand Bonello and his stars bring the themes of Henry James' source material vividly alive with this picture. It's by no means a tidy unfolding, as nothing this director creates ever is, but it is unwieldy and eclectic in a way that builds out keen resonances for the audience. While we may rocket across epochs, juggling characters, shooting formats and story tones freely, we never lose sight of.what's on the line--which is no less than our unthinkable gall to surrender ourselves to love.
Lea Seydoux is a once-in-a-generation talent who commands the audience at every moment she's on screen, working within her typical economy but also a range not yet seen within a single feature. I completely lost myself in the exquisite beauty of what is, finally, pretty lonely suffering.
We all know that Seydoux can carry a picture, but it's George MacKay who really astounds in the second half of THE BEAST as he shifts personas from a hapless, hopeless romantic into a grimmer visage of loneliness.
The past comes alive in oddly quaint strokes, and the future stuff is nicely stripped down and to-the-point. Bonello sneaks from one thing to the next, ambling down the well-worn avenues but also taking the wrong corners in different genres--all within the same picture. I couldn't help but smile and recall our old buddy Nicholas Roeg.
The director and stars draw the audience through it all so resolutely--even elegantly--that by the time we reach our inevitable crescendo, it feels like something big, striking and important. So perfectly committed and weirdly balanced is its depictions of the human heart across time and territory that an internet clip of Korine-ian abjection sits at equal comfort alongside a stuffy aristocratic courtship. It's no fluke that gonzo neo-romantic Xavier Dolan punches in as co-producer here.
THE BEAST is a film that believes in "true love", not in some facile, precious way... but in that awestruck, abiding way that you feel when you encounter such a thing in real life. The palpable investment that its two leads ante up bolsters its power. Call it an instant classic of the least probable sort, and surely the best movie of this director's career. Has Leo Carax seen this??
A dollar store Cloud Atlas, undercut by a stunningly shoddy ending
PotassiumMan6 May 2024
So much painstaking craft went into this film, including deeply committed performances by Lea Seydoux and George MacKay, that it's unfortunate that this layered and ambitious work goes down as a misfire. It was a close call throughout. As uneven as it is, I kept wanting to see where it was going. Very little would have had to change to give this a passing mark. Extremely hit and miss, it's one of more frustrating films in recent memory.
While it can be quite a slog in the early going, the film constructs a gripping storyline as it jumps from one distant era to the next. The story envisions a young woman in a bleak, soulless future in Paris where society is dominated by A. I. and human economic utility and normal emotions have been marginalized or rendered anachronistic. She is seeking to wipe her psyche clear of past traumas, which require her to return to a couple of past lives which have still left an emotional impact. It is along the way that she keeps crossing paths with the same enigmatic male stranger.
Some plot threads are more compelling than others. A terrible fire in a doll factory is expertly depicted. MacKay's character dramatically devolves in the middle era. A portrayal of an austere early 20th century Europe, a malcontent early 21st century Los Angeles and a bleak future all make the structure of the plot very intriguing. Where the film falls short is its execution. Mementos ranging from pigeons to dolls to surgery all feel like more like cheap, manufactured road posts than compelling metaphors or effective symbolism. Even if one can overlook that, a sloppy and ludicrous ending ultimately sinks the film.
It bears repeating that foreign films, especially French films, often get away with all kinds of poor quality that would normally get a Hollywood film eviscerated every which way. It's not the first time I've seen this. When a film like this comes along, that double standard is all too visible to ignore. Not recommended.
While it can be quite a slog in the early going, the film constructs a gripping storyline as it jumps from one distant era to the next. The story envisions a young woman in a bleak, soulless future in Paris where society is dominated by A. I. and human economic utility and normal emotions have been marginalized or rendered anachronistic. She is seeking to wipe her psyche clear of past traumas, which require her to return to a couple of past lives which have still left an emotional impact. It is along the way that she keeps crossing paths with the same enigmatic male stranger.
Some plot threads are more compelling than others. A terrible fire in a doll factory is expertly depicted. MacKay's character dramatically devolves in the middle era. A portrayal of an austere early 20th century Europe, a malcontent early 21st century Los Angeles and a bleak future all make the structure of the plot very intriguing. Where the film falls short is its execution. Mementos ranging from pigeons to dolls to surgery all feel like more like cheap, manufactured road posts than compelling metaphors or effective symbolism. Even if one can overlook that, a sloppy and ludicrous ending ultimately sinks the film.
It bears repeating that foreign films, especially French films, often get away with all kinds of poor quality that would normally get a Hollywood film eviscerated every which way. It's not the first time I've seen this. When a film like this comes along, that double standard is all too visible to ignore. Not recommended.
One vision of the future that AI has in store for us
Blue-Grotto28 November 2023
Dolls are made with neutral expressions to please everyone. Humans, with the help of Artificial Intelligence, may yet take after dolls.
In the future dominated by Artificial Intelligence, Gabrielle is encouraged to purge her character of negative emotions. She can do this by revisiting past lives in France (1904) and Los Angeles (2014), where she exhibited intense reactions. She is warned that at any time she will encounter a beast that intends to do her harm.
As Gabrielle navigates the past she encounters Louis in both places. Gabrielle is simultaneously fearful of Louis and in love with him. He has similar feelings about her. To trust one another Gabrielle and Louis need to bridge generations, cultures, and the depths of their own hearts. Either that or become human dolls.
The Beast is cerebral, intense, complex, and mystifying. While the film is abnormally long, there are scenes that quicken the pulse and make it seem like no time passes at all. The nonlinear plot construction and deep conversations of The Beast make it into a intricate puzzle that I am still trying to figure out. I'd like the film more if it didn't paint American males with such a broad and negative brush (but perhaps I don't like this aspect because it is so uncomfortably true). The film is growing in my appreciation, perhaps as I accept this truth. The Beast is loosely based on The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James and the character of a real person. I love the thought of revisiting past lives and exploring the question about whether intense emotions do more harm than good.
In the future dominated by Artificial Intelligence, Gabrielle is encouraged to purge her character of negative emotions. She can do this by revisiting past lives in France (1904) and Los Angeles (2014), where she exhibited intense reactions. She is warned that at any time she will encounter a beast that intends to do her harm.
As Gabrielle navigates the past she encounters Louis in both places. Gabrielle is simultaneously fearful of Louis and in love with him. He has similar feelings about her. To trust one another Gabrielle and Louis need to bridge generations, cultures, and the depths of their own hearts. Either that or become human dolls.
The Beast is cerebral, intense, complex, and mystifying. While the film is abnormally long, there are scenes that quicken the pulse and make it seem like no time passes at all. The nonlinear plot construction and deep conversations of The Beast make it into a intricate puzzle that I am still trying to figure out. I'd like the film more if it didn't paint American males with such a broad and negative brush (but perhaps I don't like this aspect because it is so uncomfortably true). The film is growing in my appreciation, perhaps as I accept this truth. The Beast is loosely based on The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James and the character of a real person. I love the thought of revisiting past lives and exploring the question about whether intense emotions do more harm than good.
Time-warped psychological drama from France
paul-allaer30 April 2024
As "The Beast" (2023 release from France) opens, we are introduced to Gabrielle, who is at an early 20th century party and while looking for her husband George, she ends up meeting Louis. We then go to "2044" and Gabrielle is being talked into cleaning her DNA from all feelings... At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.
Couple of comments: this is the latest from French writer-producer-director Bertrand Bonello, best known here in the US for his biopic "Saint Laurent". Here he explores what a world with cleansed feelings might look like. It takes a while to fully understand what is happening, as the movie jumps back-and-forth between 1920, 2044 and 2014. But once the movie finds its groove, this becomes must-see. The movie is helped immensely by the strong lead performance of Lea Seydoux as Gabrielle. Please note that the screen ratio changes often throughout the movie. And then this: when the film ends and fades to black, I was expecting the end credits. Instead, the screen showed a QR code, with the tagline: Credits: Scan Me. First time I've seen this in a theatrical release...
"The Beast" premiered at last Fall's Venice Film Festival to good critical acclaim. The movie is currently rated 85% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and for good reason. I saw the movie at my local arthouse theater here in Cincinnati this past Sunday. The early evening screening was attended so-so (I counted about 10 people). If you are in the mood for a time-warped psychological drama, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is the latest from French writer-producer-director Bertrand Bonello, best known here in the US for his biopic "Saint Laurent". Here he explores what a world with cleansed feelings might look like. It takes a while to fully understand what is happening, as the movie jumps back-and-forth between 1920, 2044 and 2014. But once the movie finds its groove, this becomes must-see. The movie is helped immensely by the strong lead performance of Lea Seydoux as Gabrielle. Please note that the screen ratio changes often throughout the movie. And then this: when the film ends and fades to black, I was expecting the end credits. Instead, the screen showed a QR code, with the tagline: Credits: Scan Me. First time I've seen this in a theatrical release...
"The Beast" premiered at last Fall's Venice Film Festival to good critical acclaim. The movie is currently rated 85% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and for good reason. I saw the movie at my local arthouse theater here in Cincinnati this past Sunday. The early evening screening was attended so-so (I counted about 10 people). If you are in the mood for a time-warped psychological drama, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
Unawareness is key
DeathBecomesHe26 April 2024
The best way to approach this film is with minimal awareness of the content or plot. Although ascribed to a certain genre, that is an inaccurate representation.
As you move through acts, the film evolves and shifts. Pacing cycles from slow burn to a quickened pace, back and forth over ~2.5 hours. Bertrand developed the score concomitant to the script, shifting between studios writing a scene then musical accompaniments before moving onto the next. This attention to creative detail was not lost on me as I found myself moving all around in my chair throughout the entire film.
The film is a labor, one that can be exhausting if you're not a reader as they shift between French and English, but the payoff is worth it. There are so many things I want to write about the film but influencing someone's viewing of it is a major disservice. If you love film and stories, and this is all you know about it, stop, see it. Bertrand wrote the role for Léa and it is so evident. She, and all her costars, allow us to follow them on this enigmatic journey, one I'm hesitant to provide any insight into.
As you move through acts, the film evolves and shifts. Pacing cycles from slow burn to a quickened pace, back and forth over ~2.5 hours. Bertrand developed the score concomitant to the script, shifting between studios writing a scene then musical accompaniments before moving onto the next. This attention to creative detail was not lost on me as I found myself moving all around in my chair throughout the entire film.
The film is a labor, one that can be exhausting if you're not a reader as they shift between French and English, but the payoff is worth it. There are so many things I want to write about the film but influencing someone's viewing of it is a major disservice. If you love film and stories, and this is all you know about it, stop, see it. Bertrand wrote the role for Léa and it is so evident. She, and all her costars, allow us to follow them on this enigmatic journey, one I'm hesitant to provide any insight into.
Not without thought, but far too long
insightflow-2060320 October 2023
I slept through parts of the film. The dialogue was rather shallow and confused for the subject it aims to convey, and the whole love story through time far too outstretched (and frankly dull). Performances are soulless, perhaps purposely, and the latter part is such a verbatim homage to David Lynch, it left me questioning this decision more than anything. For Lynch fans, the filmmakers should have hardly put forth such a simplistic moral.
Since I'm required to type more characters, I'd just refer the viewers to the Lynch/Mary Sweeney trilogy, namely Fire Walk With Me/Lost Highway/Mulholland Drive.
Since I'm required to type more characters, I'd just refer the viewers to the Lynch/Mary Sweeney trilogy, namely Fire Walk With Me/Lost Highway/Mulholland Drive.
Not for the Faint of Heart
mark-67214-529933 May 2024
Director Bertrand Bonello's "The Beast" is not for the faint of heart. It's daring, divergent, disorienting, occasionally bombastic and frustrating - in short, very French. Voila, mes amis!
The film is based, loosely, on Henry James' 1903 novella "The Beast in the Jungle." In this eighty-page short story, James suggests that the beast represents our own fear. James believed that personal fear causes an overwhelming sense of dread about the future accompanied by a sense of impending personal catastrophe, sensations that annihilate the possibility of fulfilling love with another.
In the opening scene, Gabriella (Léa Seydoux) is standing in front of a green screen receiving instructions from Bonello. It's the first clue that this film will be unconventional and surprising. Fair warning.
The film takes place at three different times. The story begins in Paris in 1910. Louis (a tremendous George MacKay - "1917") is in the process of wooing Gabrielle away from her attentive but uninteresting husband. There are also scenes in 2014 in Los Angeles. Gabrielle is a housesitting struggling actor/model. Lou is an incel psychopath who stalks her while spouting ominously about seeking "retribution." Finally, again in Paris, action takes place in 2044. In this dystopian future, AI has taken over the world, people must wear airtight masks to go outside and humans are strongly encouraged to engage in "purification," a process of purging DNA of past traumas and permanently deadening emotions. Bonello flashes forward and backward regularly. If you're feeling overwhelmed right now, it's probably because you're accurately processing how this story unfolds. To further complicate matters, Bonello shifts tone and content throughout the film - from period piece (1910) to thriller/horror film (2014) to dystopian sci-fi film (2044).
Bonello uses these three palettes, each shot in a distinctive cinematic style, to throw out some really weighty issues: that our sense of dread may be an accurate foreshadowing of the collapse of civilization, that deadening ourselves emotionally may be the most adaptive way to cope with the atrocities that occur around us continuously. For good measure, he plays with the juxtaposition of loneliness and love and scrutinizes the role of fate. If you crave a straightforward narrative or have low tolerance for ambiguity, now is a good time to run away screaming.
For you brave souls who accept the challenge, you'll be rewarded with a mesmerizing performance by Léa Seydoux, a close-up of hand-holding that's more sensual than most sex scenes plus images and ideas that will haunt you for days after the experience.
The film is based, loosely, on Henry James' 1903 novella "The Beast in the Jungle." In this eighty-page short story, James suggests that the beast represents our own fear. James believed that personal fear causes an overwhelming sense of dread about the future accompanied by a sense of impending personal catastrophe, sensations that annihilate the possibility of fulfilling love with another.
In the opening scene, Gabriella (Léa Seydoux) is standing in front of a green screen receiving instructions from Bonello. It's the first clue that this film will be unconventional and surprising. Fair warning.
The film takes place at three different times. The story begins in Paris in 1910. Louis (a tremendous George MacKay - "1917") is in the process of wooing Gabrielle away from her attentive but uninteresting husband. There are also scenes in 2014 in Los Angeles. Gabrielle is a housesitting struggling actor/model. Lou is an incel psychopath who stalks her while spouting ominously about seeking "retribution." Finally, again in Paris, action takes place in 2044. In this dystopian future, AI has taken over the world, people must wear airtight masks to go outside and humans are strongly encouraged to engage in "purification," a process of purging DNA of past traumas and permanently deadening emotions. Bonello flashes forward and backward regularly. If you're feeling overwhelmed right now, it's probably because you're accurately processing how this story unfolds. To further complicate matters, Bonello shifts tone and content throughout the film - from period piece (1910) to thriller/horror film (2014) to dystopian sci-fi film (2044).
Bonello uses these three palettes, each shot in a distinctive cinematic style, to throw out some really weighty issues: that our sense of dread may be an accurate foreshadowing of the collapse of civilization, that deadening ourselves emotionally may be the most adaptive way to cope with the atrocities that occur around us continuously. For good measure, he plays with the juxtaposition of loneliness and love and scrutinizes the role of fate. If you crave a straightforward narrative or have low tolerance for ambiguity, now is a good time to run away screaming.
For you brave souls who accept the challenge, you'll be rewarded with a mesmerizing performance by Léa Seydoux, a close-up of hand-holding that's more sensual than most sex scenes plus images and ideas that will haunt you for days after the experience.
Anti-feminist and very very boring
qeter24 October 2023
Seen at the Viennale 2023:
After half an hour I looked at my watch the first time. I guess, for the long, very long rest of the movie I did look at the time more than a dozen times.
It seems, Bertrand Bonello found the wonderful looking Léa Seydoux. And because she is so beautiful, he just wanted to show her face from all angels.
Seydoux must play a totally passive woman, whose aim in live is singularly one: to find the right partner! And the whole movie she suffers, because the man is not obtainable.
Sometimes I wonder, how much money is spent on movies without any urgency to show something.
You know, a beautiful face is nice to look at. But not for more than 2,5 hours.
It seems, Bertrand Bonello found the wonderful looking Léa Seydoux. And because she is so beautiful, he just wanted to show her face from all angels.
Seydoux must play a totally passive woman, whose aim in live is singularly one: to find the right partner! And the whole movie she suffers, because the man is not obtainable.
Sometimes I wonder, how much money is spent on movies without any urgency to show something.
You know, a beautiful face is nice to look at. But not for more than 2,5 hours.
Evergreen Love, or a coincidental triptych?
chong_an2 May 2024
In 2044, AI is running the world, most humans are redundant, and strong emotions are suspect. Hoping to land a meaningful job, Gabrielle is encouraged by her friend Louis to undergo DNA repair therapy, which involves reliving past lives to remove hidden traumas. It seems that those two have quite a bit of history.
In 1910, Gabrielle is a famous musician in Paris, married to an industrialist. However, she strikes up a relationship with another man, Louis. In 2014, Gabrielle is a lonely young struggling actress in L. A., housesitting a home way beyond her means. Louis is a 30-year-old incel who stalks her from her favorite dance club. Louis has sex only in his dreams, and, with his experience of being rejected by women, has trouble relating to Gabrielle when she gives him an invitation. In both cases, there is foreboding of disaster and death (the beast), something that consulting a psychic does not materially help.
The actors play different characters with different personalities, and acquit themselves well. The main stories (1910 and 2014) are well fleshed out, though the 2044 action seems to be more of an excuse to show the earlier ones.
Some reviews complain about the length of the movie, but, with the multiple stories, I find it acceptable, far more than the longer Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, showing at the same multiplex at the same time. This movie is shortened by skipping the final credits - they put up a QR code, so if you are interested, have your cellphone ready near the end.
I'm not too fond of the scientific / Freudian mumbo jumbo that backs the stories, but I will give it a pass, since the plot depends on it. There is, however, one sex scene (or fantasy) that is bewildering.
With the action moving back and forth between 3 time periods, it can get bit confusing. At times I wished I was watching this on video, so that I could re-wind and re-view certain scenes.
In 1910, Gabrielle is a famous musician in Paris, married to an industrialist. However, she strikes up a relationship with another man, Louis. In 2014, Gabrielle is a lonely young struggling actress in L. A., housesitting a home way beyond her means. Louis is a 30-year-old incel who stalks her from her favorite dance club. Louis has sex only in his dreams, and, with his experience of being rejected by women, has trouble relating to Gabrielle when she gives him an invitation. In both cases, there is foreboding of disaster and death (the beast), something that consulting a psychic does not materially help.
The actors play different characters with different personalities, and acquit themselves well. The main stories (1910 and 2014) are well fleshed out, though the 2044 action seems to be more of an excuse to show the earlier ones.
Some reviews complain about the length of the movie, but, with the multiple stories, I find it acceptable, far more than the longer Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, showing at the same multiplex at the same time. This movie is shortened by skipping the final credits - they put up a QR code, so if you are interested, have your cellphone ready near the end.
I'm not too fond of the scientific / Freudian mumbo jumbo that backs the stories, but I will give it a pass, since the plot depends on it. There is, however, one sex scene (or fantasy) that is bewildering.
With the action moving back and forth between 3 time periods, it can get bit confusing. At times I wished I was watching this on video, so that I could re-wind and re-view certain scenes.
A Black Mirror short story stretched thinly into 145 minutes
justinwfirestone5 May 2024
It would be slightly unfair to assert that The Beast is a 20-minute story concept pulled from the rejection pile of Black Mirror plots, but given that it was loosely based on a 1903 novella from Henry James, it could be merely unfair to make such an assertion. We see past lives lived throughout imperfect days, slavishly assembled in three interleaved timelines, sometimes experienced within an alternative reality, while at other times merely through fictional narrative.
If one pays attention for all 145 minutes, and one would assuredly deserve a personalized baby poupée if one were to have the fortitude and stimulants required to achieve such a task, one would likely attain a sense of metaphorical imagery. There are metaphors for art, floods, beasts, pigeons, love songs, or maybe I have it backwards. There could be metaphors for humanity, disaster, and dolls. Either way, The Beast is probably filled with several metaphors for which I missed their significance, except for any references to flooding or fires. Flooding and fires are metaphors for disaster, whether real or impending.
Léa Seydoux and George MacKay act with the necessary talent to put together movies like this, but movies like this remind me how I would appreciate it if restaurants were to offer Half the Food for Half the Price.
I wouldn't mind directors offering Half a Movie for Half the Price.
If one pays attention for all 145 minutes, and one would assuredly deserve a personalized baby poupée if one were to have the fortitude and stimulants required to achieve such a task, one would likely attain a sense of metaphorical imagery. There are metaphors for art, floods, beasts, pigeons, love songs, or maybe I have it backwards. There could be metaphors for humanity, disaster, and dolls. Either way, The Beast is probably filled with several metaphors for which I missed their significance, except for any references to flooding or fires. Flooding and fires are metaphors for disaster, whether real or impending.
Léa Seydoux and George MacKay act with the necessary talent to put together movies like this, but movies like this remind me how I would appreciate it if restaurants were to offer Half the Food for Half the Price.
I wouldn't mind directors offering Half a Movie for Half the Price.
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