Bertrand Bonello‘s ‘The Beast‘ digital streaming release date has been confirmed. The film will be available to buy or rent on Video on Demand (VOD) platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Vudu, and Google Play Movies & TV starting June 18, 2024.
Directed and written by Bonello from a story he co-wrote with Guillaume Bréaud and Benjamin Charbit, the film is loosely based on Henry James’s 1903 novella The Beast in the Jungle.
Here’s the official plot for The Beast:
The year is 2044: artificial intelligence controls all facets of a stoic society as humans routinely “erase” their feelings. Hoping to eliminate pain caused by their past-life romances, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) continually falls in love with different incarnations of Louis (George MacKay). Set first in Belle Époque-era Paris, Louis is a British man who woos her away from a cold husband, then in early 21st Century Los Angeles, he is a disturbed American bent on delivering violent “retribution.” Will the process allow Gabrielle to fully connect with Louis in the present, or are the two doomed to repeat their previous fates? Visually audacious director Bertrand Bonello (Saint Laurent, Nocturama) fashions his most accomplished film to date: a sci-fi epic, inspired by Henry James’ turn-of-the-century novella, The Beast in the Jungle, suffused with mounting dread and a haunting sense of mystery. Punctuated by a career-defining, three-role performance by Seydoux, The Beast poignantly conveys humanity’s struggle against dissociative identity and emotionless existence.
Produced by Justin Taurand and Bertrand Bonello, the film was created in collaboration with production companies Les Films du Bélier, My New Picture, Sons of Manual, Arte France Cinéma, and AMI Paris.
‘The Beast’ had its world premiere on September 3, 2023, at the 80th Venice International Film Festival as part of the official competition and was released theatrically in France on February 7, 2024, by Ad Vitam.
