The Beasts 2023

In a near-future world, in 2044, artificial intelligence (AI) has taken over most jobs, reshaping society as machines handle the bulk of work once done by humans. AI is praised for curbing climate disaster, yet it views people as emotionally driven and often irrational, unfit for roles that demand sustained rational thought. Against this backdrop, a human named Gabrielle volunteers for a radical DNA-purification process designed to dampen emotions and unlock access to higher-status jobs. The program promises greater opportunities, but it also poses a fundamental question about what it means to feel.

While awaiting purification, Gabrielle meets Louis, a fellow candidate, and the two form an immediate, undeniable connection. Their attraction unfolds against a service routine ruled by an android named Kelly, who monitors Gabrielle between purification sessions and escorts her to a nightclub that shifts through decade-based themes, a place that becomes a recurring beacon in her fragmented timeline.

During the first purification session, Gabrielle is transported to a past life in 1910 France. There she lives as an acclaimed pianist who runs a doll-making factory with her husband, Georges. At a salon one night, she encounters Louis—whom she had known in Naples six years earlier. Their bond deepens, even as Gabrielle carries a lifelong fear of impending catastrophe. A visit to a medium, who appears uncannily accurate, intensifies their closeness. Despite being married, Gabrielle and Louis grow closer, though her fear keeps her from pursuing an affair. She invites Louis to the factory, but disaster strikes: the factory floods, and the flammable dolls ignite a fire. As they attempt to escape, Gabrielle and Louis drown together.

Back in 2044, the memory of that past life lingers. Gabrielle runs into Louis at the club and learns he is still hesitant about purification, fearing he might lose the ability to feel. They decide to delay the procedure briefly, but Gabrielle eventually proceeds to the clinic alone.

In the second purification session, Gabrielle’s memories transport her to 2014 Los Angeles. Here she is an underemployed model and actress who supplements income by house-sitting for a wealthy architect. Louis reappears as an incel and stalker, making videos criticizing how women overlook him. He follows Gabrielle home but cannot muster the courage to approach her. The medium reappears in a contemporary form—a pop-up virus ad—still delivering unsettling, uncannily accurate readings. An earthquake shakes the city, and Gabrielle approaches Louis to walk her home, only to be rebuffed as he dismisses her as a setup for further humiliation. Through the television, she hears Roy Orbison’s 1962 song “Evergreen,” and tears come unbidden. In a moment of surreal imagination, she envisions a sexual encounter with Louis, who confesses that he shares the same lifelong fears she carries.

Back in 2044, Gabrielle returns to the club, only to find Louis gone. She wonders why the song moved her so deeply and what it might imply about their intertwined fates.

The third purification session revisits the 2014 narrative. Louis’s obsession takes a dark turn: he breaks into Gabrielle’s home with a pistol, vowing to “revenge” himself on women. Gabrielle pleads for him to trust that his fear doesn’t mean he intends harm. The moment is taut with tension as she reaches out to connect with him, but the scene cuts to reveal Louis, pistol in hand, staring at Gabrielle’s lifeless body floating in a pool—her death left unambiguous but unsparing.

Back in 2044, the AI delivers the stark verdict: the purification has failed. This outcome is extraordinarily rare, occurring in only about 0.7% of the population. Gabrielle remains trapped in an unsatisfying job, yet a fragile glimmer of possibility persists when she asks Louis to meet her again at the club. They share a dance to “Evergreen,” and Louis reveals he has secured a position at the Ministry of Justice. He claims to still love Gabrielle, but his emotional depth has shifted so that the old, capacious way of feeling no longer exists for him. The moment is devastating: Gabrielle realizes their love cannot be the same, and she falls to her knees, crying in anguish.

The film’s mid-credits sting underscores the precariousness of choosing to alter what makes us human. A medium’s voice calls out to 2014 Gabrielle, warning her not to enter the 2044 purification room, only for a gunshot to interrupt the moment and leave questions hovering about fate, memory, and the price of erasing emotion.

Overall, the narrative threads together a meditation on memory, love, and the costs of a future where technology promises perfection but may strip away the very feelings that give life its meaning. The film balances intimate emotional turmoil with a broad, speculative scope, inviting viewers to consider how past lives, present choices, and future technologies intersect to shape who we become.