The Beast Film Ireland Magazine [Video]

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 …