FILM · 2023 · FRANCE
La bête
11 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
- #001
In the 2014 segment of the story, the character Louis is inspired by Elliot Rodger, the real-life killer responsible for the 2014 Isla Vista murders, in which six people died and fourteen were wounded. The killings were classified as misogynist terrorism and were linked to incel ideology. Many of Rodger's YouTube videos, in which he described his situation, his hatred of women and his rage against society, were recreated for the film.
- #002
Director Bertrand Bonello began writing the screenplay in 2017 with Gaspard Ulliel and Léa Seydoux in mind for the lead roles, after having worked with both actors on Saint Laurent (2014). The project was officially announced in January 2021, but shooting was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and was planned to begin in April 2022. In the meantime, Bonello directed Coma (2022), his last completed work, which starred Ulliel. Ulliel died on 19 January 2022 following a skiing accident, and filming on The Beast was postponed again. In February 2022, Bonello told Variety that he would probably recast Ulliel's role with a non-French actor. On 16 May 2022, it was announced that the British actor George MacKay had been cast in the male lead and that filming was scheduled to begin in August 2022.
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- #005
Director Bernard Bonello wanted a non-French actor to replace the recently deceased Gaspard Ulliel so that the actor would not suffer from being compared to Ulliel. The British actor George MacKay was hired, but he could not speak any French, so he learned it just for the role, thereby confirming in Bonello's eyes the reputation of British actors for being hard-working.
- #006
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- #008
In a 2024 interview with Reverse Shot, Bertrand Bonello discussed working with his cinematographer on the film's visual strategy: "Josée Deshaies and I have worked on many films over the years, and she has always been an integral part of shaping their look. For instance, on The Beast, she was the one who came up with the idea of shooting the 2044 section in 4:3 to give Gabrielle's life more meaning. It creates a claustrophobic feeling, and she shot the 1910 section on 35mm film. But the rest comes from the screenplay, meaning that in 60 percent of all the scenes in 2014, he is alone in a house looking at laptops and screens, and the rest is digital. That's how our lives are today. We're bombarded with images coming at us from every direction. Which means that the film in those moments is a kind of reflection of our daily experiences, of textures we're familiar with."
- #009
The 2014 character Louis Lewanski, designed by inspiration from the Isla Vista killer Elliot Rodger, draws attention to the figure of the "incel." An incel (short for "involuntary celibate") is a person who believes they cannot find a romantic or sexual partner despite wanting one. The term originally described loneliness and social isolation, but some online incel communities have been associated with misogyny, resentment toward women and, in rare cases, the glorification of violence. Most people who have difficulty with relationships do not resort to violence, and not everyone who identifies as an incel shares extremist beliefs. However, because of numerous high-profile attacks linked to individuals who embraced this ideology, the term is now often associated with online radicalization and misogynist extremism.
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