In the late 1980s a TV show called Star Test began, it placed celebrities in front of a computer who asked incredibly candid questions while they stared at a screen speaking to a disembodied voice. The result was telling, often awkward and sometimes funny. Something similar plays out in Bertrand Bonello’s sophisticated and layered exploration of loneliness and connection set over different time periods from the turn of the 20th Century to the near future in 2044.
In the film the voice of AI is provided by Xavier Dolan speaking to Gabrielle (a superb Léa Seydoux) a woman who is embarking on a process where she wanders through her past lives with the intention of removing her emotions. Loosely inspired by Henry James’ The Beast in the Jungle, Bonello eerily captures the overwhelming sense of foreboding as depicted in the novella. Gabrielle is convinced that a great catastrophe awaits her and is guided by a mix of fear and overwhelming passion when it comes to love and ambition. Over the different time periods a man named Louis (George MacKay) reappears to her and they engage in discussions about art and isolation. They are in love but indecision and anxiety hold Gabrielle back from properly engaging in romance.
Bonello delves into the human condition, posing multiple questions on desire, dehumanisation and freewill. In the future, it is AI that is responsible for saving the world but it is also a time where feelings have to be removed in order for humans to succeed in their careers. From the early 1900s in Paris to 2014 in LA (there’s a slick voyeuristic Brian De Palma vibe to this setting), Louis and Gabrielle display yearnings for connection but their longing presents differently in the digital age compared to the past. Incel culture and narcissism are all factors brought on by being very online and confused, but it is the loneliness that is the root cause and that is shown to be universal over time through self-destructive behaviour.
Fear eats the soul of both Gabrielle and Louis, and Bonello makes you feel their inner turmoil with an intoxicating score, discomforting editing and dynamic interplay between the two exceptional actors. The Beast is compelling science fiction that taps into modern concerns about AI and how it is altering our relationships with art and one another. If you had the choice to remove fear but it meant you would also lose love, what would you do?
The Beast will be released in cinemas on 31 May
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