Bertrand Bonello’s ‘The Beast’ opens in Boston this weekend, inviting audiences into a sci-fi melodrama that spans decades
By Dana Barbuto/Boston Movie News
Director Bertrand Bonello unleashes “The Beast,” a retelling that takes Henry James’ classic novella, “The Beast in the Jungle,” on a bumpy ride through time and genre. Blending sci-fi intrigue, lavish period drama, and heart-pounding stalker thriller, Bonello ventures into three distinct time periods. With this elliptical storytelling style and a penchant for the existential and mysterious, Bonello is sometimes confounding. But the movie, as head-scratching and frustrating as it is, stays with the viewer long after it’s over.
While the always-captivating French actress and former Bond girl Léa Seydoux is the film’s compelling guide, the movie itself feels unwieldy, attempting to explore a multitude of themes within its lengthy two-and-a-half-hour runtime. Bonello (“Saint Laurent”) delves into topics of love, fear, reincarnation, and self-destruction. His gaze is all over the place, resulting in a disjointed narrative that often feels like three separate films crammed into one.
The nonlinear storytelling may initially confuse audiences, but Seydoux’s changing hairstyles serve as a visual anchor for tracking the various timelines. Each chapter transition is signaled by Seydoux’s character closing her eyes, transporting viewers between 1910 Paris, 2014 Los Angeles, and a dystopian 2044 Paris overrun by artificial intelligence. In the early story, a beautiful pianist falls in love with a charming Brit who woos her away from her husband. In southern California, a 30-year-old incel (based on mass shooter Elliot Rodger) is about to launch a killing spree against the women who rejected him. “I deserve girls” is one of the misogynistic muses he posts online. Lastly, the story jumps to a futuristic City of Lights set after the “tragedies of 2025.” Yikes. Could this be a double-feature with Alex Garland’s “Civil War?”
All three stories revolve around the lives of Gabrielle (Seydoux) and Louis (George MacKay, “1917”), lovers from past lives who can never fully reconnect and whose interactions are punctuated by a feeling of doom that Gabrielle can’t shake—that’s the only resemblance to the James novella. Gabrielle repeatedly revisits the machine-run “purification center” to have her painful memories wiped. The process involves a bath in black water and a needle probe in the ear canal. In this setting, humanoids, including one played by Guslagie Malanda, now meet all human needs, emotional, physical, and sexual. Nonetheless, Gabrielle’s mind resists all attempts to dehumanize and quell the feeling of something coming “to obliterate her.”
Symbolism abounds throughout the timelines, from references to “Madame Butterfly” to the foreboding presence of pigeons and the haunting melodies of Roy Orbison’s “Evergreen.” Yet, despite these thematic threads, “The Beast” remains a perplexing cinematic experience, oscillating between surrealism and introspection. Even the decision to present the film’s credits in a QR code is strange.
In essence, “The Beast” is a challenging exploration of existential dread and the human condition. At one point Gabrielle is asked if she gets “scared by something that’s not actually here.” So yeah, the beast of the title is whatever imaginary monster you’ve conjured in your head. Tame it at your pleasure; just be on the lookout for pigeons.
‘The Beast’
Rating: Unrated but contains violence, some strong language, and sexual situations. In French with subtitles and some English
Cast: Léa Seydoux, George MacKay
Director: Bertrand Bonello
Writer: Bonello with Guillaume Bréaud and Benjamin Charbit
Running time: 146 minutes
Where to watch: Playing at Landmark Kendall Square and The Coolidge Corner Theater.
Grade: B-
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