The Beast (2024) is a French-Canadian science fiction romantic drama film directed by Bertrand Bonello.
The film is loosely based on Henry James's 1903 novella "The Beast in the Jungle." It stars Léa Seydoux and George MacKay, with Guslagie Malanda and Dasha Nekrasova in supporting roles.
The film takes place in 2044, where artificial intelligence has taken over most of the jobs in the world. Humans are deemed "useless" and incapable of making decisions due to their emotions. Gabrielle, a young woman, decides to purify her DNA to find a more fulfilling job. She enters her past lives to rid herself of strong emotions and meets different incarnations of Louis. The story follows Gabrielle's journey as she falls in love with Louis in different eras, including Belle Époque-era Paris and early 21st Century Los Angeles. The film explores themes of dissociative identity, emotionless existence, and humanity's struggle against these conditions.
The film features a talented cast, including Léa Seydoux as Gabrielle, George MacKay as Louis, Guslagie Malanda as Poupée Kelly, Dasha Nekrasova as Dakota, Martin Scali as Georges, Elina Löwensohn as the medium, Marta Hoskins as Gina, Julia Faure as Sophie, Kester Lovelace as Tom, Félicien Pinot as Augustin, Laurent Lacotte as the architect, Weronika Szawarska as Veronica, Jasmine Van Deventer, Xavier Dolan as the A.I system (voice), and Bertrand Bonello as the director (voice).
Principal photography started in Paris on August 22, 2022, and wrapped in October 2022. The film was initially scheduled to be released in France on November 8, 2023, but the release date was pushed back to February 28, 2024, and then forward to February 7, 2024.
The film received positive reviews, with an average grade of 3.7 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 38 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 65 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Unwieldy but rewarding, *The Beast* uses its sci-fi conceit to explore intriguing themes in largely satisfying fashion." Metacritic assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."