Rumored to have been rejected by Cannes earlier this year, Betrand Bonello’s sci-fi film “The Beast” has had some strong word of mouth these past weeks, with even some hinting at a possible Golden Lion win at a Venice.
Here’s a Venice insider giving some details on a film that clearly floored him —
“George MacKay in THE BEAST gives a performance for the ages, truly astonishing. Nobody will come close this year for Best Actor in my books. If the film does not win the Golden Lion — but chances are pretty high it does — he will be THE contender to beat for the Volpi Cup.”
Immense praise for a film that hasn’t been officially screened yet. At the moment, based on what’s been going around, it’s my pick to win the Golden Lion. Ironically, it came very close to making Cannes competition this year, but was pushed aside by Catherine Corsini’s “Le Retour.”
Other Venice competition films with good pre-fest buzz include Agniezka Holland’s “Green Border,” Nikolaj Arcel’s “The Promised Land” Fien Troch’s “Holly” and Timm Kröger’s “The Theory of Everything.”
Bonello’s “The Beast” plunges us into a near future where emotions have become a threat. Gabrielle (Lea Seydoux) finally decides to purify her DNA in a machine that will plunge her into past lives and her rid of all strong feelings that have haunted.
Bonello is a critically acclaimed French filmmaker who has had his films premiere at Cannes, Berlin and Venice. His best film, in my humble opinion, is 2017’s “Nocturama,” a terrorist thriller that felt like a brilliant hybrid of Bresson’s “The Devil” and Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead”.
I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of looking forward to the “Michael” sequel. Whether Vantoine directs it or John Logan, it doesn’t matter—it’s an inevitable sh*tshow that will result from its making and release.