Transporting the Henry James novella to the nightclub, The Beast in the Jungle turns the Edwardian era story into a surreal, escapist drama spanning the last decades of the 20th century. As John and May wait for that all-important event, they lose the importance of everything else, like love, friendship, and family, all to the decadence they only acknowledge as patience. This concept paired with the visuals are interesting, especially since the film also makes the viewer wait with them, drawing out the existential frustration, the fear of a life not lived, and the self-absorption, but the film struggles with the historical events, haphazardly inserting tragedies like the AIDS epidemic for what seems to be no reason.
The club as a place of endless (im)possibilities. A man and a woman wait here together for 25 years for a mysterious, all-changing event to occur. From 1979 to 2004: from disco to techno. A love story and an obsession.
Believing that he is chosen for an extraordinary event, John waits for that event in a nightclub, where he keeps meeting May. Each time they meet, from 1979 to 2004, they recall their last meetup.
Adapting a novella to film is difficult, especially when the story focuses on their internal narratives. The Beast in the Jungle tries to incorporate that with narration from Béatrice Dalle, who brings up the historical events, but it just comes across as random rather than intentional.
More like… The beat in the jungle… Okay, I’ll see myself out, which is probably a good thing, considering these two characters.
