In a strange, totally implausible future where climate change has ravaged the planet and AI seems to have taken charge of humanity, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) is undergoing a procedure to “purify her DNA” by stripping her past lives of all strong emotions. To do this she must sleep in a bath full of black goo while previous versions of herself in 1910 and 2014 have meaningful encounters with a man named Louis (George MacKay), who has a habit of coming into her life at crucial inflection points. Past, present, and future collide as Gabrielle starts to consider what is willing to give up to fit into the world she didn’t choose.

As all competent filmmakers know, the greatest special effect is an actress’s face. Seydoux’s teary eyes guide us through this unsettling procedure, keeping our focus so we don’t ask too many questions about what is even going on. MacKay pops as well, especially in the 2014 sections where his incel incarnation gives chilling monologues to his iPhone camera. Everything hinges on these performances, and both actors deliver. But you may ask, what is this?

To attempt to explain The Beast goes against the point of the film, a story of two souls bound by love, violence, tragedy, and baby dolls. In some ways it dares the audience to be bored as Seydoux lounges around an empty house in LA, clicking on pop-up ads and watching music videos. There’s never a moment where you are at ease. The Beast operates on a level of surreality that borders on anti-cinema, or a new form of post-cinema emerging to match our bizarre world. I am usually allergic to any film taking on “our modern world,” as many writers and directors struggle to find ways to make cell phones cinematic, but The Beast leans into just how crazy it feels to be alive. And this is technically based on a Henry James novella!

Those who endure and celebrate Inland Empire may finally have a new champion in harsh digital cinema. Bonello, a director I’m not familiar with but whose work I will definitely catch up on soon, is just throwing a ton of stuff at the wall in such disorienting ways you might not even realize how effective it all is. You can’t trust your immediate reaction to The Beast, good or bad. Whatever it is, it is undeniable.  

The Beast
2024
dir. Bertrand Bonello
145 min

Opens Friday, 4/12 @ Coolidge Corner Theatre