The Beast (2023 film)

The Beast
Theatrical release poster
FrenchLa Bête
Directed byBertrand Bonello
Screenplay by
  • Bertrand Bonello
  • Guillaume Bréaud
  • Benjamin Charbit
Based onThe Beast in the Jungle
by Henry James
Produced by
  • Justin Taurand[1]
  • Bertrand Bonello[1]
Starring
CinematographyJosée Deshaies[1]
Edited byAnita Roth[1]
Music by
  • Bertrand Bonello[1]
  • Anna Bonello[1]
Production
companies
Distributed byAd Vitam (France)[2]
Release dates
  • 3 September 2023 (2023-09-03) (Venice)
  • 7 February 2024 (2024-02-07) (France)
Running time
145 minutes[4]
Countries
Languages
Budget€7 million[6]

The Beast (French: La Bête) is a 2023 science fiction romantic drama film directed by Bertrand Bonello from a screenplay he co-wrote with Guillaume Bréaud and Benjamin Charbit, freely inspired by Henry James' 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle. It stars Léa Seydoux and George MacKay, with Guslagie Malanda and Dasha Nekrasova in supporting roles. It had its world premiere in official competition at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 3 September 2023.[7] It is set to be released theatrically in France by Ad Vitam on 7 February 2024.

Premise

In the near future where emotions have become a threat, Gabrielle finally decides to purify her DNA in a machine that will plunge her into her past lives and rid her of all strong feelings. She then meets Louis and feels a powerful connection, as if she had always known him. The story unfolds over three distinct periods: 1910, 2014 and 2044.

Cast

Production

Development

On 20 January 2021, French magazine Les Inrockuptibles reported that on 14 January 2021, Arte France Cinéma had allocated support for Bertrand Bonello's next film, La Bête, a sci-fi melodrama starring Gaspard Ulliel and Léa Seydoux.[10][11] The film is a co-production between France's Les Films du Bélier, Arte France Cinéma, My New Picture, and Canada's Sons of Manual.[2] Bonello produced the film with Justin Taurand, alongside co-producers Xavier Dolan and Nancy Grant.[1] Ad Vitam will release the film in France, and international sales will be handled by Kinology.[2]

Bonello started writing the screenplay in 2017[12] with Gaspard Ulliel and Léa Seydoux in mind for the lead roles,[13] after having worked with both of them in the 2014 film Saint Laurent.[12] The screenplay, freely inspired by Henry James' 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle,[14] was written by Bonello with contributions from Guillaume Bréaud and Benjamin Charbit.[2] The 2014 incel version of the character Louis was based on Elliot Rodger, who uploaded a misogynist manifesto to YouTube and then killed six people and injured fourteen others near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara on 23 May 2014.[15]

Filming was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic[16][17] and was scheduled to start in April 2022.[14][18] In the meantime, Bonello directed the film Coma (2022) instead, which featured Ulliel in the last movie he filmed and the last work he finished.[19][14] Ulliel died on 19 January 2022 following a skiing accident, and the filming for The Beast was delayed again.[13] On 13 February 2022, Bonello told Variety that he would likely recast Ulliel's role with a non-French actor.[13] Bonello later explained that he wanted a non-French actor in order to avoid any comparison with Ulliel,[15] so he decided to cast an American or British actor instead.[20]

On 16 May 2022, Variety reported that British actor George MacKay was cast as the male lead.[5] Bonello found MacKay through an American casting director,[15] and he was the last person that Bonello met for the role and was cast after a few tests in London.[20] Bonello said that it was obvious that MacKay was the right person for the role after two or three minutes following the tests.[20] Variety also reported that the film would take place in Paris and California, would be shot in French and English, and that filming was scheduled to start in August 2022.[5] Bonello said that the only thing he changed in the script after MacKay was cast was that he wrote the 1910 segment of the film half in French and half in English.[15] On 4 September 2022, Léa Seydoux told Deadline that George MacKay learned French for the film and that filming would resume in late October.[21]

In June 2023, Bonello said in an interview with French magazine Paris Match that The Beast is the film he is "the most proud of today".[6]

Filming

Principal photography started in Paris on 22 August 2022.[2][22][23] Filming also took place in Los Angeles without permission for a couple of nights.[20] Filming wrapped in October 2022.[21]

Release

Bonello told IndieWire that the film was rejected by the Cannes Film Festival.[20]

The Beast had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 3 September 2023,[24] where the end credits were replaced with a QR code that redirected to a link with a video with the credits.[25][9] It had its North American premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.[26] It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'Gala Presentation' section and was screened on 6 October 2023.[27] It was also selected to the Golden Spike competition of the 68th Valladolid International Film Festival.[28]

The film was originally set to be released theatrically in France by Ad Vitam on 8 November 2023, but the release date was pushed back to 28 February 2024,[29] and then pushed forward to 7 February 2024.[30][31]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 34 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."[32] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 80 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[33]

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for The Beast
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Venice International Film Festival 9 September 2023 Golden Lion Bertrand Bonello Nominated [7]
Valladolid International Film Festival 28 October 2023 Golden Spike The Beast Nominated [34]
Best Actress Léa Seydoux Won [35]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "La Bête" (in French). Ad Vitam. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lemercier, Fabien (22 August 2022). "Bertrand Bonello is shooting The Beast". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  3. ^ "ARTE France Cinéma coproduit les prochains films de Sophie Letourneur et Bertrand Bonello et le premier long métrage de Emmanuelle Nicot" [ARTE France Cinéma is co-producing the next films by Sophie Letourneur and Bertrand Bonello and the first feature film by Emmanuelle Nicot] (in French). Arte. 14 February 2021. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  4. ^ "The Beast". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Keslassy, Elsa (16 May 2022). "George MacKay, Lea Seydoux to Star in Bertrand Bonello's Sci-Fi Romance 'The Beast' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b Vely, Yannick (20 June 2023). "Bertrand Bonello : "Le discours de Justine Triet était d'une grande évidence"" [Bertrand Bonello: "Justine Triet's speech was very obvious"]. Paris Match (in French).
  7. ^ a b Vivarelli, Nick (25 July 2023). "Venice Lineup Includes Films by Bradley Cooper, Sofia Coppola, Ava DuVernay, David Fincher and More". Variety.
  8. ^ a b "La Bête / The Beast (WT) - Science Fiction, Thriller". Crew United. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "The Beast - end credits". noirlumiere.com (in French). Archived from the original on 14 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  10. ^ Baldous, Rose (20 January 2021). "On en sait plus sur les prochains films de Sophie Letourneur et Bertrand Bonello" [We know more about the next films of Sophie Letourneur and Bertrand Bonello]. Les Inrockuptibles (in French). Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  11. ^ Pearce, Leonard (20 January 2021). "Bertrand Bonello Directing Sci-Fi Melodrama La Bête Starring Léa Seydoux and Gaspard Ulliel". The Film Stage. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  12. ^ a b "La Bête : Léa Seydoux et Gaspard Ulliel dans un mélodrame d'anticipation pour Bertrand Bonello" [The Beast: Léa Seydoux and Gaspard Ulliel in a melodrama of anticipation for Bertrand Bonello]. AlloCiné (in French). 1 February 2021. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  13. ^ a b c Croll, Ben (13 February 2022). "'Coma' Helmer Bonello Vows to Go on With 'Beast' Despite Ulliel Death". Variety. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  14. ^ a b c Roos, Gautier (25 December 2021). "[INTERVIEW BERTRAND BONELLO] Le grand entretien chaos" [[INTERVIEW BERTRAND BONELLO] The Great Chaos Interview]. Chaos Reign (in French).
  15. ^ a b c d Croll, Ben (3 September 2023). "Director Bertrand Bonello Explains the Shocking, Incel Inspiration for 'The Beast,' Starring Lea Seydoux, George MacKay (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  16. ^ Belpeche, Stéphanie (26 January 2021). "Bertrand Bonello : "Le fantastique est la base de ma cinéphilie"" [Bertrand Bonello: "The fantastic is the basis of my cinephilia"]. Le Journal du Dimanche (in French). Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  17. ^ Katz, David (15 February 2022). "Bertrand Bonello • Director of Coma". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  18. ^ Lavallée, Eric (13 January 2022). "Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2022: #25. Bertrand Bonello's La bête". Ioncinema. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  19. ^ Roos, Gautier (24 December 2021). "INFO CHAOS – Avant "La bête", Bertrand Bonello a réalisé un film-surprise intitulé "Coma"" [INFO CHAOS – Before “The Beast”, Bertrand Bonello made a surprise film entitled “Coma”]. Chaos Reign (in French). Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  20. ^ a b c d e Lattanzio, Ryan (5 September 2023). "Cannes Rejected Bertrand Bonello's 'The Beast' — It's Now Venice's Boldest Movie". IndieWire.
  21. ^ a b Baz, Bamigboye (4 September 2022). "Léa Seydoux On Bond 26: "Who Knows? Maybe Madeleine Swann Will Be Back"". Deadline. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  22. ^ Saint Macary, Victor (23 July 2022). "Tournage du prochain Bonello dans la superbe cité Trévise. Gaspard Ulliel devait y jouer le rôle principal aux côtés de Léa Seydoux". Twitter (in French). Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  23. ^ "Information Tournage | "La Bête" film réalisé par Bertrand Bonello" [Filming Information | "The Beast" film directed by Bertrand Bonello]. Archive Today (in French). Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.{cite web}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. ^ "La bête". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  25. ^ Strong, Hannah (3 September 2023). "The Beast – first-look review". Little White Lies.
  26. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (24 July 2023). "TIFF Lineup Unveiled Amid Strikes: Awards Contenders Dumb Money, The Holdovers, Rustin; Starry Pics For Sale With Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Michael Keaton, Viggo Mortensen & More". Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  27. ^ "The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  28. ^ "La Seminci vuelve a reunir a grandes creadores del cine de autor internacional". ABC (in Spanish). 15 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  29. ^ "Ad Vitam précise son line-up du premier trimestre 2024" [Ad Vitam announces its line-up for the first quarter of 2024]. Boxoffice Pro (in French). 17 July 2023.
  30. ^ "Du mouvement dans les line-ups distributeurs". Boxoffice Pro (in French). 24 November 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  31. ^ "The Beast de Bertrand Bonello (2023)". Unifrance. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  32. ^ "The Beast". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 29 October 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  33. ^ "The Beast". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  34. ^ Rivera, Alfonso (19 October 2023). "Valladolid's Seminci celebrates its first edition directed by José Luis Cienfuegos". Cineuropa. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  35. ^ Hopewell, John; Sandoval, Pablo (29 October 2023). "Valladolid: 'The Permanent Picture,' 'The Old Oak' Win Big as the Spanish Festival's Reboot Wins Applause". Variety. Retrieved 29 October 2023.

External links