(Review written by Becca Sandergaard and Treena Christine)
Becca’s Review
When I went into “The Beast”, all I knew was that it was a satire on the internet age with Lea Seydoux. Everything else about the film was completely out of left field for me. I didn’t really expect any of it and left pretty impressed. This isn’t the type of film that follows a direct path and will definitely take multiple watches to fully get as it’s very non linear while also being heavily metaphorical.
My reading of the film is that it’s one about the developments in technology over time and how they’ve ultimately made our society worse. The idea that as we get more technologically advanced, we also find ourselves drifting apart from one another. Similar to how 2001: A Space Odyssey uses surrealist sci fi to dissect the technology of our current time and the possibilities of our future, The Beast takes a look at love and relationships and how technology will soon destroy them in some form. I found the 2000/ segment where George is essentially playing Elliot Rodgers to be quite telling of the overall message of the piece.
The performances in the film were quite good as you could feel the complexities of the relationship between the pair throughout the film. They had a certain chemistry that became quite twisted once the second half of the film began. In both the positive and negative attributes of their characters, they were able to bounce off each other quite nicely.
The Beast is quite the interesting surrealist sci fi odyssey about incels and the world of digital romance. With a fantastic double performance and some truly wild and unexpected moments, this is one that will have people scratching their heads but also itching to go back. I could see this film going down in history with such films as The Shining as films people love to dissect as there’s so much going on in it. The Beast was definitely one of the more interesting films I was able to see at TIFF this year.
Treena's Review
As an eclectic piece of art using different ideas to tell the story of two loves that will never be, “The Beast” by director Bertrand Borello pulls the viewer into moments across time and Space. Though nothing was truly explained throughout the film' and the viewer is left to determine the context of the story on their own, there are so many beautifully executed moments throughout the film.
Léa Seydoux and George Mackay give legendary performances as they play a character that is the same across
time, but different across each rendition of time. Their chemistry across each section is unparalleled as they work so well together. I also didn’t know George Spoke french and I am Kind of her for it.
The film itself is also beautiful. The sets range from an underwater doll factory, to a
2040 testing room with every single one being just as purposeful and creative. They
are all displayed through multiple types of shots that specifically bring attention to what is around round the main characters. Borello does a wonderful job at establishing location and tone in that regard.
While the story is a bit difficult to fully understand, The Beast is made up of multiple visual aspects as well as smaller inner connected moments that make it into a truly artistic and exciting watch. The Beast is an abstract representation of love and longing gorgeously put together to put together the film that we see on screen.
The Rating
