The Beast

"You remember, don't you? That we have already met?"

2024 2h 26m FR

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 288

Science FictionDramaRomance

Synopsis

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In the near future where emotions have become a threat, Gabrielle finally decides to purify her DNA in a machine that will immerse her in her past lives and rid her of any strong feelings. She then meets Louis and feels a powerful connection, as if she had known him forever.

“You remember, don't you? That we have already met?”

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Cast

Léa Seydoux
Gabrielle
George MacKay
Louis
Guslagie Malanda
Poupée Kelly
Dasha Nekrasova
Dakota
Martin Scali
Georges
Elina Löwensohn
La voyante
Marta Hoskins
Gina
Julia Faure
Sophie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Bertrand Bonello
Writers: Bertrand Bonello, Henry James, Benjamin Charbit
Languages: French, English
Countries: France, Canada, Switzerland

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 10% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Canada, Switzerland.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Bertrand Bonello, shot by Josée Deshaies. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Anna Bonello. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anita Roth shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Léa Seydoux and George MacKay and Guslagie Malanda carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Bertrand Bonello directs. Josée Deshaies behind the camera. Anna Bonello scores. Anita Roth cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, Canada, Switzerland. Dialogue in French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 10% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 2 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.
4International production across 3 countries: France, Canada, Switzerland.
5Directed by Bertrand Bonello, shot by Josée Deshaies. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Anna Bonello. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Anita Roth shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Léa Seydoux and George MacKay and Guslagie Malanda carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "You remember, don't you? That we have already met?".
10IMDB entry: tt14407336 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 33 themes, including "factory", "artificial intelligence (a.i.)", "drowning", "paris, france".
12Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Josée Deshaies
Original score: Anna Bonello
Editing: Anita Roth
Production design: Katia Wyszkop
Costume design: Pauline Jacquard
Makeup / hair: Miguel Santos
VFX supervisor: Emilien Lazaron
Sound: Jean-Pierre Laforce
Stunt coordinator: Rémi Canaple
Runtime: 146 min · 2h 26m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,500,000
Box office: $760,979
Return: 10% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Beast (2024)

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Bertrand Bonello

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What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-09
★ 7/10
Though it's really way too long, I did rather enjoy the developing chemistry here between Léa Seydoux ("Gabrielle") and George MacKay's "Louis". The story isn't really structured, it's all largely dictated from her consciousness lounging in the bath of Guinness no longer needed by "Baron Harkkonen" where she is having her DNA cleansed. This is ostensibly to make her life happier and more fulfilled, to take the rough edges off disappointment and pain - and generally to turn her into a rather soporific drone. The thing is, whilst plugged in and gently soaking we discover that her brain isn't co-operating with the process and that she is having very lifelike fantasies - historical, contemporary and futuristic with the handsome and enigmatic "Louis". The story in itself isn't really up to very much. It's an episodic jaunt through what is/was/might be their lives - together and apart. What does work well is the ambiguity. The sense that artificial intelligence, either working on it's own or at the behest of humanity, can rearrange our thoughts and our memories. It can create as convincingly as it can delete comprehensively - and all because there is a sense that emotions are unpredictable, unreliable and therefore a threat to the stability of a new "natural order". The dialogue can meander into the realms of psycho-babble now and again which does detract from the subtle but clear thrust of the narrative, but it is actually quite a scary prognosis of what might become fact if we are not careful to protect what is real and important.

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