Beau is Afraid review

BEAU IS AFRAID: 

ARI ASTER/JOAQUIN PHOENIX JOINT IS 3 HOURS OF PURE CHAOS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: 😐 out of 4 (This movie broke me!)

A24

Joaquin Phoenix in Beau is Afraid

 

            Joaquin Phoenix (Signs, The Master, Joker), for better or worse goes on the adventure of a lifetime in Beau is Afraid, the new film from Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar). I’ve been a fan of Aster’s work as a director with Hereditary being among the best films I saw in 2018 and Midsommar was a genuinely suspenseful mindf*ck of an experience. 

            I was intrigued to see what he was going to do next especially after it was announced that Joaquin Phoenix, hot off the billion-dollar success of Joker was going to star in the lead role. Upon seeing the new Aster/Phoenix joint, I can say that this movie is NUTS! To the point where I don’t even know what to make of it or how to properly review it. 

            The film follows Beau (Phoenix), a mild-mannered but paranoid man who embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother (Patti LuPone-Driving Miss Daisy, Summer of Sam, The School for Good and Evil). All the while confronting his greatest fears along the way. 

            The film also stars Amy Ryan (Capote, Gone Baby Gone, Birdman) as Grace, Nathan Lane (The Lion Kingfranchise, The Birdcage, The Producers (2005)) as Roger, Kylie Rogers (The Whispers, Yellowstone) Toni, Denis Ménochet (Inglourious Basterds, The French Dispatch, The Beasts) as Jeeves, Parker Posey (Dazed and Confused, Scream 3, A Mighty Wind) as Elaine Bray, Stephen McKinley Henderson (Lincoln, Lady Bird, Dune 1 and 2) as the Therapist, Richard Kind (Stargate, Argo, Big Mouth) as Dr. Cohen, and Hayley Squires (Call the Midwife, A Royal Night Out, Away) as Penelope. 

            Overall, Beau is Afraid is one of the strangest, most perplexing cinematic experiences you will have…probably in your entire life. It’s hard to come up with words to describe just how insane and psychotic this movie is and because of that, it will definitely garner polarizing responses from those who see it. 

            The plot sounds like a relatively straightforward road trip movie, it is not (Oh God, it’s not!). Watching this movie is like going on your own bizarre spiritual journey (Kind of like what the titular Beau character is going on) and by the end you just feel this huge sigh of relief when it’s over like wow, you just made this big accomplishment by sitting through the whole thing. 

            The film is essentially an allegory on anxiety and paranoia shown from the perspective of Beau and the way he perceives the world around him is like this relentless, nightmare-fueled city that makes any iteration of Gotham City look like a magic fairytale land by comparison (When was the last time you’ve seen Batman fight a naked serial killer holding a knife? It never f*cking happened!). What I find brilliant about this movie is that there aren’t any reaction shots from the people around Beau and that it’s never made clear whether everything happening to him is real or just in his head, which can lead to tons of interpretations amongst moviegoers. 

            I think what (somewhat) balances the craziness out is Joaquin Phoenix’ bonkers yet endearing performance as Beau which is quite different from his anarchic turn as Arthur Fleck from Joker. To an extent, both characters are mentally unstable and dangerous, but where Arthur Fleck in Joker practically becomes a powerful force of nature, Beau is incredibly vulnerable and sympathetic all throughout and you do genuinely feel sorry for him many times in the film. 

            This movie clocks it at just under 3 hours (2 hours and 59 minutes to be exact) which may be a huge turnoff point for some especially when it isn’t something more conventional like The Lord of the Rings or Avengers: Endgame. For me, there was never a dull moment in this movie, I was glued to the screen from beginning to end not knowing where it was going and being perplexed by what was happening onscreen. 

            While I’d normally go into detail about some of the bizarre imagery and strange scenes in the film (Given how they were pretty much the most memorable element of the movie), well, the visuals in Beau is Afraid are so surreal and hard to describe that I’m not going to discuss them in great detail. I feel it would ruin the experience of going to see the movie and actually witnessing this weird sh*t for yourself if I described various scenes and visuals so, at the cost of this being a very bare-bones and vague review…Beau is Afraid. 

            Whether you like the movie or not, Beau is Afraid is certainly an unforgettable experience and will get film enthusiasts and audiences everywhere talking. Good luck!