June Butler asks ‘Where’s the Beef?’
Director Bertrand Bonello co-wrote the script for The Beast with Guillaume Bréaud and Benjamin Charbit, which is loosely based on Henry James 42-page novella titled The Beast in the Jungle, written in 1903.
Bonello’s film focuses on the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the impact it could have on social interaction – some herald it as an exciting new way of living. For others, there is increased concern about the impact a disembodied, unfeeling entity will have on mankind – a manufactured machine devoid of understanding or compassion, unwilling and unable to deconstruct the exceedingly messy human way of existing.
Emotions are the divisive curtain that places robots on the other side, hors jeu—empty vessels that mirror but never accurately recreate. Love is the critical component, propelling sentient creatures to do what appears to be utterly illogical. Humans possess unique distinctiveness, a nucleus of curiosity, hope and wonder, along with a boundless desire to be in a permanent state of amour-fou and remain there. The ‘push-me-pull-you’ sense of The Beast, is a fear of loving too much and losing that same sensation – it represents the excesses of survival, an ‘all or nothing’ tale of endeavour.
In 2014, Gabrielle Monnier (Lea Seydoux) is filmed acting a scene in front of a green screen. An out-of-shot voice calls on her to affect fear of an unknown assailant. Gabrielle mimics alarm, and her performance increases gradually to horror, ending in abject terror. By implication, dread of an intangible, unseen creature, causes far more distress than an easily visible threat.
In later scenes, Gabrielle drifts languidly through a salon des arts, admiring the work on display. Judging from Gabrielle’s style of dress, it is set around 1910. She meets an ardent young man and there is an instant emotional connection between the two, but it is unclear whether they have met in a previous encounter. Louis Lewanski (George MacKay) gazes at Gabrielle with obvious adoration. They speak in monosyllables, seemingly spellbound, each mesmerised by the other. Louis discovers that Gabrielle is married and asks where her husband Georges is. By implication, Gabrielle is a free agent once her husband is not in sight. It transpires that Gabrielle is a renowned concert pianist. Louis asks to see her hands and tenderly holds them in his, practically enveloping Gabrielle’s soul with the force of his will.
Fast forward to 2044, an era not that far in the future and Gabrielle is fully immersed in the epoch of Artificial Intelligence. She is locked in a metier that is deeply unfulfilling. Artificial Intelligence has taken over all meaningful professions and humans have been deployed to less arduous responsibilities. It is inferred that men and women are simply not up to the same standards of comparable excellence. To obtain a higher salary and subsequent better quality of living, Gabrielle must take part in a process designed at eliminating emotion and purifying DNA – the procedure involves returning to the past and ridding herself of any strong sentiments she had at that time. In initial stages, Gabrielle loses her nerve and stops but later returns and submits. It is noteworthy that the hybrid reasoning behind getting DNA cleansed is first, to earn more money, and second, forestall all embedded emotions. It is the purest version of capitalistic totalitarianism there ever was – remaining in a state of insidious boredom is easier to sustain if there are no feelings at all. Gabrielle relives clips of her memories from the years 1910, 2014, and 2044 while Louis follows in her wake. Sometimes he is aware of their previous encounters, sometimes not. During one of Gabrielle’s re-lived experiences in 2044, Louis does not appear at all.
The Beast is a stately behemoth, progressing at a funereal pace. It is slow and painfully obscure in some scenes. Switching back and forward from year to year, was hard to keep up with – but for a change of clothes and hairstyle (between 2014 and 2044), it was sometimes challenging to work out where the timeline lay and what part of the tale we were being told. Bonello’s ask from audiences is to commit fully to the passionate love story between Louis and Gabrielle. George McKay gives his all as does Lea Seydoux; but in the end, it is simply not enough.
Wendy’s, a United States burger chain, famously launched an ad campaign in 1984 where a cantankerous elderly lady (Clara Peller, then 81), visited various rival fast-food outlet drive-throughs seeking out the meatiest burgers. Ms Peller would zoom up to collection points for Burger King or McDonald’s, and loudly yell ‘Where’s the Beef?’ at nonplussed servers. I have this nearly uncontainable urge to do the same thing after watching The Beast. The concept made for a most perfect kernel, but the external narrative, alas, fell sadly short.
Tragically The Beast just could not find its way and the haphazard quantity of convoluted meanderings means that in addition to trying their darndest to make us believe in the eternal love story that was Gabrielle and Louis’s, it lacked believability and substance.
There may not have been much beef, but there was plenty of bull.
In cinemas from 31st May 2024.
