The Beasts

In 2044, artificial intelligence dominates most jobs and prescribes a DNA purification to remove emotions for better positions. Gabrielle consents to undergo the purification process. On the way to the purification center, she meets Louis, a fellow candidate, and they feel an instant, uneasy connection.

Louis and Gabrielle first meet in Naples six years before the 1910 memories. She confesses a lifelong private fear of some catastrophic event, a fear that continues to haunt her in every life. This moment plants the seeds of their complicated bond.

During the first purification, Gabrielle experiences a past life in 1910 France as an acclaimed pianist who runs a doll-making factory with her husband Georges. She encounters Louis at a salon, and their attraction grows despite her fear and a sense of moral restraint. A flood floods the factory, the dolls ignite a fire, and Gabrielle and Louis drown while fleeing.

Back in 2044, Gabrielle runs into Louis at the club. He reveals he is hesitant to undergo purification for fear of losing the ability to feel. They decide to delay purification for several days, but Gabrielle ultimately goes to the clinic anyway.

During the second purification, Gabrielle's memories transport her to 2014 Los Angeles where she is an underemployed model and actress. In this life, Louis is an incel and stalks her, making videos about how women do not notice him.

Gabrielle encounters the medium again, represented as a pop-up virus ad. After an earthquake, she asks Louis to walk her home, but he rebuffs her, convinced she is setting him up for humiliation.

Gabrielle hears Roy Orbison's Evergreen on a television screen and begins to cry. She then hallucinates having sex with Louis, who confesses sharing the same lifelong fears that she carries.

In the third purification, Louis breaks into the 2014 household with a pistol, vowing revenge on women. Gabrielle pleads for safety and trust as she begs him to find non-violent means. The scene cuts to Louis holding the pistol, staring at Gabrielle dead in a pool.

Back in 2044, the AI announces that the purification has failed, an outcome that only 0.7% experience. Gabrielle remains in an unfulfilling job but finds a silver lining in the possibility of meeting Louis at the club.

Gabrielle invites Louis to meet at the club and they dance to Evergreen. Louis reveals he has secured a job at the Ministry of Justice and claims he still loves Gabrielle, though purification changed his capacity to feel.

Gabrielle realizes Louis can no longer feel love in the same way. She collapses to her knees and screams in anguish, realizing the purification's emotional price. The moment underscores the tragedy of their intertwined fates.

In the mid-credits scene, the medium calls out to 2014 Gabrielle not to go into the 2044 DNA purification room. A gunshot is heard, hinting at danger and unresolved consequences for the characters.