This review was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film being covered here wouldn't exist.Though it refers to something very different in the context of its story, The Beast is a fitting title for writer-director Bertrand Bonello’s latest film as it begins to convey the massive scope of the canvas he is painting on.
What Is 'The Beast' About? Only loosely based on Henry James’ 1903 novella, “The Beast in the Jungle,” the opening of the film places us in a desolate green screen environment where Seydoux’s character is acting out a horrifying scene. It is eerie to see her going through the motions and more than a bit biting as Bonello seems to be having a go at the emptiness of modern filmmaking that robs scenes of their physicality.