The Beast (2023)
Well, that was something else. Maybe it needs more time to settle, and it will likely benefit from discussing it with someone. But my initial reaction here is that it on the verge of being brilliant, but not quite.
While the general concept of three time periods, 1910, 2014 and 2044, and their connections are easy enough to follow and understand, I never knew where the movie was going. It constantly caught me by surprise, but I never lost the connection with the narrative. I wasn’t expecting everything to be completely explained or neatly tied together in the end, as it is clearly not that kind of film, but I was waiting for something to become clearer in the end. Especially in the last part I got a little impatient as it got a bit repetitive with the repeated scenes and dialogue. Thankfully the ending was very fitting in its own right and what I think sealed my initial intuitive reading of the movies themes as being ultimately about how technology dehumanizes and ultimately destroys human love. We see it progressively in each time period, how Gabrielle and Louis are being denied their emotional bond, and how technology is gradually disconnecting them from their true feelings.
It lands perfectly within the current zeitgeist with AI tech versus artists in particular, which could have come off as very pretentious, but I think the film handled its theme quite well without hammering down a specific point. There is room for the viewer to find their own thematic views from the story.
Also, it is a comforting thought to know that once Isabelle Huppert retires, we still have Léa Seydoux.
Rating: 4.5