The Beast
The film’s attitude to the protagonist’s sense of foreboding seems a little unclear: on the one hand, justified by what has “already happened” in the future, with the technological elimination of everything exceptional and incomparable in human relations; on the other hand, just a manifestation of her own refusal and fear of love and life. The Elliot Rodger section just seems to intensify this ambiguity, by acting (a little strangely) as if the latter’s problem might have been his own fear of saying yes to love when the possibility arose.
In some way the premise is almost an arthouse version of CLOUD ATLAS (2012), or even THE FOUNTAIN (2006), but with the advantage that the fundamental idea, that the deployment of AI could potentially lead to the erasure of every kind of “relief” (in the sense of a third dimension opened up by the perception of “depth of field”) operating between the processes of psychic and collective individuation – which is to say, the erasure of the way in which our present existence is always a projection of a future woven on the basis of the past we have lived and past experiences we have not lived but which we have adopted – is one that seems bound to become increasingly relevant with every passing year, and to already (writing in December 2024) have become significantly more relevant since the time of the film’s initial conception.
In some way the premise is almost an arthouse version of CLOUD ATLAS (2012), or even THE FOUNTAIN (2006), but with the advantage that the fundamental idea, that the deployment of AI could potentially lead to the erasure of every kind of “relief” (in the sense of a third dimension opened up by the perception of “depth of field”) operating between the processes of psychic and collective individuation – which is to say, the erasure of the way in which our present existence is always a projection of a future woven on the basis of the past we have lived and past experiences we have not lived but which we have adopted – is one that seems bound to become increasingly relevant with every passing year, and to already (writing in December 2024) have become significantly more relevant since the time of the film’s initial conception.
Mini Review: The attitude to the sense of foreboding seems unclear: justified by what has “already happened” in the future, with the technological elimination of everything exceptional and incomparable; on the other hand, just a manifestation of her own refusal of love. The Elliot Rodger section intensifies this ambiguity, by acting (oddly) as if his problem might have been his own fear of saying yes to love when the possibility arose. In some way the premise is almost an arthouse version of CLOUD ATLAS.
Watch the Trailer