Beau Is Afraid (2023)

Top comments

1. 

   Siskoid

   Some people go through life dismissively asking "What's the worst that could happen?"; others knowing it in their bones and that it will happen to THEM. Like Joaquin Phoenix's character in Beau Is Afraid. Ari Aster's Kaufman-esque absurdist comedy (the raucous laughter in the audience was, for once, appropriate) initially makes you wonder how much of a "fear filter" is on events. But there's no real way to resolve the question of whether it's all in Beau's head or really happening. It's both. This is a world where everything Beau fears will happen, does. Aster explores the wages of fear - what it makes us do and not do, its repressive effects, its sins by cowardice, and satirically, how ridiculous the reaction in when you really think about it. And it's all in service of his seemingly exorcising his mommy issues as Beau goes back in time, meeting versions of his mother (that were, that could have been) on his way to the woman he loves but fears. Aster takes aim at parenting (molding and unconditional love), savagely so. There is a LOT to unpack, more than a capsule review could ever hope to, every image filled with meaning. I will admit that people coming out of the theater claiming this was the worst movie they'd EVER seen (hey, good on you for staying the whole 3 hours then) made me give it half a star more. I'm a movie sadist that way. 1 year ago
2. 

   SpacedJ

   I worry about Ari Aster's mother. 10 months ago
3. 

   mcmakattack

   Phenomenal! An achievement in anxiety. Paraphrasing from the amazing narrated section in the middle: "You will experience amazing highs and profound lows." Beau is Afraid certainly hits those marks. The parts of the story that feel the most safe and loving are tainted by an inescapable sense of danger that perfectly captures chronic fear. The madman tendency of Ari Aster here to keep escalating each scene to beyond fever pitch is astounding. The pacing and structure make the runtime well earned. 1 year ago

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