Beauty and the Beast: Christophe Gans’ film tells an old, well-known story, making liberal use of visuals: the art direction, costume design, makeup and visual effects are all very rich and innovative. (It does, however, get excessively dark and desaturated at times.) The film portrays well the traditional fairy-tale sense of wonder and terror; however, there is certain coldness when dealing with the love story, the most important of the three aspects. Vincent Cassel is not given much to do, but Léa Seydoux is a charming and strong presence, playing well the richest character.