The Beast

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2 hr. 26 min.

Drama

Romance

Sci-Fi

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List

84%

95 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

The year is 2044: artificial intelligence controls all facets of a stoic society as humans routinely "erase" their feelings. Hoping to eliminate pain caused by their past-life romances, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) continually falls in love with different incarnations of Louis (George MacKay). Set first in Belle Époque-era Paris, Louis is a British man who woos her away from a cold husband, then in early 21st Century Los Angeles, he is a disturbed American bent on delivering violent "retribution." Will the process allow Gabrielle to fully connect with Louis in the present, or are the two doomed to repeat their previous fates? Visually audacious director Bertrand Bonello (Saint Laurent, Nocturama) fashions his most accomplished film to date: a sci-fi epic, inspired by Henry James' turn-of-the-century novella, suffused with mounting dread and a haunting sense of mystery. Punctuated by a career-defining, three-role performance by Seydoux, The Beast poignantly conveys humanity's struggle against dissociative identity and emotionless existence.

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Critics Consensus

Unwieldy but rewarding, The Beast uses its sci-fi conceit to explore intriguing themes in largely satisfying fashion.

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Kelvin G

This was very well acted and shot well, but the story was just meh. There was entirely too much dialogue. The end was somewhat abrupt too.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/24/24

Full Review

Will

A very strange movie that uses a sci-fi framework to examine difficulties people face in forming connections and sustaining relationships very ambitious and not totally successful, it benefits from a strong lead in Lea Seydoux and sharp direction. Still, it bites off more than it can chew thematically.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/21/24

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Remy

Strange movie but made me think and was entertaining

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/23/24

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Dotan

First half was very boring and then the rest mad 0 sense

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/12/24

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Audience Member

Actual rating is 0 stars. It was about 2 hours 28 minutes too long.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/29/24

Full Review

Chapman C

A millennial Mulholland drive

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/27/24

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Bertrand Bonello

Director

Léa Seydoux

Gabrielle

George MacKay

Louis

Guslagie Malanda

Poupée Kelly

Dasha

Dakota

Elina Löwensohn

la voyante

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The Beast: First Look - Close Your Eyes

0:34

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The Beast: Trailer 1

1:37

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Adam Graham

Detroit News

"The Beast," a riff on a 1903 Henry James novella that has flashes of remarkable atmosphere but has trouble congealing into a cohesive whole.

Rated: C

Apr 26, 2024

Full Review

Richard Whittaker

Austin Chronicle

[Bonello] comes nowhere near achieving anything as insightful in two and a half hours that James manages in 30 pages.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 25, 2024

Full Review

Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List

A multi-genre/multi-century sci-fi philosophical whatchamacallit that wears out its welcome two-thirds of the way into a nearly two-and-a-half hour running time.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 22, 2024

Full Review

Ruth Maramis

FlixChatter Film Blog

Bonello’s genre-bending dystopian drama is not for everyone, it can be an endurance test for some but Léa Seydoux's magnetic performance keeps it engaging.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 26, 2024

Full Review

Linda and Al Lerner

Movies and Shakers

Seydoux and McKay are directed for deliberately slow, methodical interaction. Bonello depicts past, present and future showcasing Seydoux’s versatility playing characters through different eras in a haunting, complicated, frightening history of romance.

Apr 26, 2024

Full Review

Sara Clements

Pajiba

It’s a weird sweeping romance and sci-fi dystopia mix that taps into so many contemporary anxieties.

Apr 26, 2024

Full Review

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Synopsis

The year is 2044: artificial intelligence controls all facets of a stoic society as humans routinely "erase" their feelings. Hoping to eliminate pain caused by their past-life romances, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) continually falls in love with different incarnations of Louis (George MacKay). Set first in Belle Époque-era Paris, Louis is a British man who woos her away from a cold husband, then in early 21st Century Los Angeles, he is a disturbed American bent on delivering violent "retribution." Will the process allow Gabrielle to fully connect with Louis in the present, or are the two doomed to repeat their previous fates? Visually audacious director Bertrand Bonello (Saint Laurent, Nocturama) fashions his most accomplished film to date: a sci-fi epic, inspired by Henry James' turn-of-the-century novella, suffused with mounting dread and a haunting sense of mystery. Punctuated by a career-defining, three-role performance by Seydoux, The Beast poignantly conveys humanity's struggle against dissociative identity and emotionless existence.

Director: Bertrand Bonello
Screenwriter: Bertrand Bonello, Bertrand Bonello, Guillaume Bréaud, Benjamin Charbit
Distributor: Sideshow / Janus Films
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Original Language: French
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 2024, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $42.8K
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)