Beau Is Afraid Review: Another classic for Ari Aster or career killer?

 

Beau Is Afraid Review: Another classic for Ari Aster or career killer?

Beau Is Afraid is now director Ari Aster’s third feature length film. This is a 3 hour long surreal nightmare odyssey of Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) trying to pay a visit to his mother. It may seem like a small fable of sorts, but it is by far Ari Aster’s most ambitious and idiosyncratic film to date. Throughout this film's massive runtime it is bursting with creativity, technical brilliance, and great ideas that proves that Aster is working on a higher level than most filmmakers working today. However, this is by far his most frustrating and unbalanced film to date, nevertheless it will still keep viewers eyes peeled for years to come regardless of anyone's enjoyment or dissenjoyment. 

Aster’s first film Hereditary was an unexpected success at the box office and in the horror community. It put psychological horror back on the map and inspired many up-and-coming filmmakers to attempt his style. His second feature Midsommar showcased that terror can be just as frightening in broad daylight than it can be at night. Both films may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but most audiences found some level to connect with for both of them, whether it was family tragedy or toxic relationships there was a certain aspect that felt unique to everyone. For Beau Is Afraid it is 110% detached from reality and that is the film's greatest strength and weakness. 

Just like his previous two outings, this is also distributed by A24. For this project, the studio handed him $35 million dollars after he has said for years now that this has been his passion project and it absolutely shows. It seems that for the last few years we have been seeing up-and-coming filmmakers being handed these big budgets and taking major risks, not really caring what the audience thinks and just taking their chance and utilizing this budget they've been given, creating the projects that they’re burning to tell and it is completely astounding. So even though there is a lot here to struggle with in this freudian tale, I would still much rather have something like this pure unfiltered art rather than something that is safe and palpable for everyone because sometimes it feels like that is the direction we’re heading in. 

This one is pretty hard to nail down into just one category. Walking out of the theater I honestly had no idea how to approach this before writing, and I’m mostly certain that was Aster’s intent since most fans of previous works are lukewarm as of now and since the film has no interest in spending any time in reality whatsoever. I can’t stress anymore how ambitious this film really is, it feels almost as if this abstract children’s storybook (for adults) has been brought to life. Yet, it is frustrating by design because it is trying to put you in the shoes of this slumpy manchild who only has things happen to him because of the relationship with his overbearing mother he is riddled with paranoia and guilt almost to the point of paralysis. 

I couldn’t go into every single detail about this film even if I tried. The film is made for multiple viewings, from right off the bat Aster throws us into this surreal exaggeration of Skid Row, LA. To some extent it really works in making us understand how Beau views the world and adds some compelling dark humor since this is a comedy-horror picture. It really does bring us into that feeling of everything is a threat and how everyone is out to get you even in simple situations. For the best experience it works best when viewing this as a comedy, since Aster isn’t taking things too seriously this time and his previous films have quite a bit of humor to them that really brightened a lot of the tense moments, particularly in Midsommar. If anyone got lockjaw from the attic scene in Hereditary there is an attic scene present here as well that is amplified up to 11 and is full of pure visceral chaos and just continues to descend further into madness. Many viewers will label this film self-indulgent, pretentious, exhausting, or even punishing and sometimes is really as simple as it is just too long. A 3 hour runtime needs to be earned and Beau Is Afraid definitely overstays its welcome. It’s weird because there aren’t many scenes that feel as if they need to be removed completely, only just omitted because there are a handful of extraordinary sequences, particularly one involving a stage play that is beautifully shot, but sadly does not add much to the central story. Even a big chunk taking place at a house with Amy Ryan and Nathan Lane’s characters that are entertaining, but have moments and scenes that drag on way too long and often feel redundant. 

Surprisingly, even though there is quite a lot that could’ve been trimmed off, what I found most intriguing about the film is what I could've used more of and that is the relationship with his mother. It is the driving force of this film, yet it felt as if we didn’t learn a whole lot about it and it all stays pretty surface level and never truly feels fully lived in besides the exception of the amazing performances. A lengthy runtime can feel earned if you’re really invested in watching the main protagonist’s journey, but another major issue is the titular character of Beau. Joaquin Phoenix is fantastic here and he shows a lot of hardened emotions and physicality throughout, the gag is extremely funny in the first hour but eventually the novelty wears off and you realize he’s not only kind of one-note but actually quite annoying. The way he mumbles and wines all feel very redundant, which I know to an extent that is the point, but if Aster is asking us to invest in this 3 hour ride then what are we doing here? At a certain point it all starts to feel like noise and personally it doesn’t feel those things co-existed very well. And it didn’t help by the fact that it’s structured to be kind of chapters or vignettes. Going from his apartment, to this upper class house, to the woods, and nothing really feels anchored to anything else. A lot is required of the viewer to not only be deciphering all this symbolism that’s being thrown at you, but to simply just care about what’s going on. 

Beau Is Afraid is interesting in a lot of ways, there are just many film’s that deal with shame, guilt, and mother’s being overbearing that have been done in a better way that feel far less long-winded. And it’s been done in ways where we don’t have to create all of this dreamy delirium in order to make fairly redundant points. All of these themes keep building and building to this grand revelation/reveal towards the final chapter and we’re left kind of just feeling underwhelmed and wondering why it all matters in this unexplainable way. There is a lot of good in here, but sadly it never really clicks in place and really ignites into something bold and powerful. The film is very inspired and skillful and some of the best he’s ever showcased before, it’s definitely touching on bold moments and powerful moments it just fizzles out as it goes along and a lot of the meta psychedelic spectacle that is going on here feel as if he’s only touching on certain ideas rather than opening up the ideas, a lot of the aesthetic is kind of smothering the overall intent. In the long run, if you’re a mega cinephile you’ll have a lot of fun analyzing the film into the ground, from the Freudian aspects, corporate America, prescription drugs, urban decay, and the parallels to the odyssey. This was still only my first viewing, the film may have not touched me or motivated me to care about the first go round, but multiple viewings always benefit tremendously and Beau Is Afraid is certainly a movie we will never see get made again. Now with all that being said, I still recommend everyone to go out and give it a chance and support this in the theaters, especially since it is an original idea and God knows we need more of them now. 

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By Danny Manna Twitter: @Cinemanna24 - Nerdthusiast Content Creator