How can a film contain a tortured love story, a creepy incel stalker, and a menacing AI overlord? Such is the unexpected journey of French director Bertrand Bonello’s label-resistant film The Beast (streaming on the Criterion Channel). It’s a one-of-a-kind experience, which makes its unfolding difficult to describe, even if it’s dazzling. Every minute carries with it the suspense that what might come next will catch you off guard. It’s exhilarating as hell.
THE BEAST:BROADCAST OR SKIP?
The essentials: It is 1910, in Paris. Gabrielle Monnier (Léa Seydoux), a high society woman of the Belle Époque, feels trapped in a loveless marriage. A charming gentleman, Louis (George MacKay), catches her eye and the possibilities of freedom and love present themselves in a possible romance. But she fears the consequences, which leads to a paralysis that puts them both on the brink of danger…
It’s 2014, Los Angeles. These would-be lovers meet again, but the fear lies mostly with Louis. As the mouthpiece for misogynistic mass murderer Elliot Rodger, the webcasting incel fears receiving love more than giving it. When he crosses paths with Gabrielle, who is now trying to make it as a model in the shadows of Hollywood, they’re brought to another inflection point. But where she brings her vulnerability, he meets her with the potential for violence…
The year is 2044, and Paris has all the architecture of the City of Lights but none of its soul. The stars seem to have aligned for these star-crossed lovers, as Gabrielle and Paul finally get a chance to be together. To do so, they must undergo a DNA “purification” process to rid themselves of their emotions and become more productive workers in a society run almost entirely by AI. The procedure forces them to revisit their past lives, awakening feelings for Gabrielle just as she should be silencing them.
What movies will this remind you of?: The Beast has the vibes of a doomed romance Vanilla Sky Or The eternal sunshine of the spotless mind but it is imbued with Lynchian surrealism and suspense.
Must-see performances: George MacKay does an extraordinary job here, especially channeling the slippery side of an incel who you know just needs a big hug, but this is Léa Seydoux’s show. From her masterclass in green-screen acting in the prologue to her blood-curdling scream that ends the film, The Beast highlights the full depth of his range and creativity as a performer.
Memorable Dialogue: “Can you be scared by something that’s not really there?” a director asks Gabrielle on set. He’s talking more concretely about her ability to react to an off-screen force that will be digitally added, but the question also resonates in philosophical dimensions. The Beast explore. Is it possible to express fear of something we can only feel and not see, like love and intimacy?
Sex and skin: The Beast It’s a frustrated, unconsummated love, so the characters never express themselves sexually. We only see glimpses of it on a screen in the 2014 timeline; real sickos will recognize images of Harmony Korine Waste truckers make a prolonged appearance.
Our opinion: It is tempting to apply a hyper-contemporary look to The Beast and read it above all as an oddly timely warning against the dangers of AI sanitizing the passion of life. But it’s deeper than a simple tale of technocratic dystopia. Bertrand Bonello doesn’t want you to “solve” his film’s seductive ambiguities, because that would mean somehow finding an answer about the forces of fear and love that have plagued humans throughout the ages. But this immersive, expansive work elicits the kind of engagement needed to untangle its knotty, genre-defying mysteries. Following Gabrielle and Louis through time, The Beast is part drama, part romance, part thriller, part sci-fi, and totally unique.
Our call: Stream it. The Beast The film may seem imposing because it resists easy interpretation and simple categorization. But it is the kind of film whose impenetrability will draw you in rather than repel you if you allow yourself to linger on its ambiguities and uncertainties. Bertrand Bonello’s film is as richly complex and compelling as the forces of feeling it seeks to describe.
Marshall Shaffer is a freelance film journalist based in New York City. In addition to Decider, his work has also appeared on Slashfilm, Slant, The Playlist, and many other outlets. One day soon, everyone will realize how right he is when he says that. Spring breakers.
Watch The Beast on the Criterion Channel
