In “The Beast,” Bertrand Bonello immerses Léa Seydoux into the heart of science fiction and her past lives

Bertrand Bonello adapts “The Beast in the Jungle” by Henry James and follows in the footsteps of “Last Year in Marienbad” by Alain Resnais. Halfway through he loses his intrigue.

Bertrand Bonello is original in his themes and a talented director. He adapts a short novel by Henry James by taking it to the limits of fantasy. The hero becomes the heroine (Léa Seydoux) and the time elapsed in the original work spans several previous lives. In the cinema from Wednesday, February 7th The beast challenges, but does not keep its promises to the end.

In 2044, when everyday life is accompanied by artificial intelligence, emotions must be banished. To get rid of it, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) must go back to her previous lives to purify her DNA. At every turn she finds Louis (George MacKay), her lifelong love, with the constant fear of impending catastrophe.

Bonello monopolizes Henry James’s novel by transposing it into the future. His science fiction is not far from David Cronenberg’s universe. The themes of body, mutation, sex and feelings are common to them The beast. The presence of Léa Seydoux, seen in Crimes of the future the Canadian director emphasizes this connection a little.

Loss of rhythm

Bertrand Bonello plays the theme of time, which is the focus of the film, as well as possible. The scene quotes a dialogue Last year in Marienbad by Alain Resnais at the beginning of the film, places him in a conjuring of memories that gradually becomes a prison. Similar situations repeat themselves, with the same protagonists, but different each time. Struck by a mysterious impending catastrophe, Gabrielle approaches it by recognizing more and more of its contours in order to free herself from it. Achieving this means integrating, but doesn’t that also mean losing your integrity, your identity?

The beast builds this beautiful framework in a first part in which the secrets of the plot and the time fit perfectly into the elegant production by Bertrand Bonello. Having found his theme and the right performer alongside an impeccable George MacKay, he repeats himself in a second half that loses flavor. The film becomes unbalanced, goes in circles, loses its rhythm, like a working copy that is being edited. The 2h26 of the film is noticeable while a huge success was in progress.

The leaf

Genre: Drama / Science Fiction
Director: Bertrand Bonello
Actor: Leah Seydoux, George MacKay, Guslagie Malanda, Dasha Nekrasova, Elina Löwensohn, Julia Faure
Pays: France
Duration : 2h26
Mission: February 7, 2024
Dealer: To live

Summary: In a near future where artificial intelligence dominates, human emotions have become a threat. To get rid of it, Gabrielle must purify her DNA by diving back into her previous lives. There she finds Louis, her true love. But a fear grips him, the feeling that a catastrophe is on the horizon.