By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Bertrand Bonello
Starring: Dasha Nekrasova | George MacKay | Guslagie Malanda | Léa Seydoux | Martin Scall
Original language title: La bête
Year: 2024
Running time: 146
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14407336/reference/
Chris says: “In past films like SAINT LAURENT and NOCTURAMA, I’ve admired director Bertrand Bonello’s approach and elements of his heightened style without finding them complete or entirely convincing. His latest gets closer than ever to feeling whole but that’s primarily due to star Lea Seydoux appearing in nearly every scene. Her Gabrielle is paired with Louis (George MacKay) principally across three time periods: 1904 France, 2014 Los Angeles and a near-future heavily shaped by artificial intelligence. Bonello will also occasionally and briefly shift to 1980 or the mid-1960s for scenes that seem present mostly to indulge in era-appropriate music or fashion. The constant throughout this is how Gabrielle and Louis spin in orbit but can never fully connect with each other for reasons not fully apparent until late in the film.
“Very loosely adapted from the Henry James novella The Beast in the Jungle, the film is perhaps overlong but rarely boring. It’s mostly a showcase for Seydoux and MacKay as they inhabit different personas in alternate time periods (the latter especially effective when shifting from a European aristocrat to a 21st Century incel) and, as usual, also one for Bonello’s depiction of worlds only possible through a camera lens. I’m not sure what it all adds up to although its fixation on AI seems especially timely and considered; let’s just hope it doesn’t start an accidental trend by way of its high-concept end credits ‘roll’. 3.5 cats
“Screened at TIFF 2023 (my last film of the fest!); no US distribution yet.”
Michael says: “Now I regret not joining Chris at TIFF in 2023 to watch this lengthy French film just before leaving the festival. Bertrand Bonello’s stylish and complex film is ostensibly based on Henry James’ short story, ‘The Beast in the Jungle,’ but Bonello expands the story into a sci fi, quasi-metaphysical epic that tests the viewers attention, but makes for some pretty compelling storytelling. Add to that a singular vision that suggests that every moment of this 2 1/2 hour film was meticulously constructed.
“In the near future, humanity has learned to explore and edit DNA to remove anxiety by limiting the emotional toll it delivers. This is done by visiting past lives and expunging the dread that hovers over people due to trauma from generations past. Gabrielle is encouraged to undergo the procedure to increase her effectiveness for a job she is applying for, but she is worried that this will turn her into an emotionless, robot-like reflection of herself. Yet she is also eager to remove the existential dread that has followed her all her life, like a beast in the shadows waiting to pounce.
“Bonello takes us into a couple of Gabrielle’s past lives, including her time as a musician in Paris during the Belle Époque, and then again in the early 2000’s as a model living in California. The third part of the story takes place in 2045, where Gabrielle is struggling with her decision to submit to the process. Led by a bravura performance from Léa Seydoux, who inhabits nearly every frame of the film, Gabrielle is fascinating to watch. Her every expression tells a story, and Seydoux uplifts the already fascinating film to greater heights. She is ably supported by her love interest, Louis, played wonderfully by George MacKay, whose extensive body of work I was not familiar with. 4 cats”