Beau Is Afraid

If you think of this movie as a nightmare it makes more sense. When you dream, your brain processes deep emotions and fears. Things like guilt, shame, childhood fears (spiders, strangers, water, the woods, etc.) and a lot of times the narrative is confusing and all over the place. This basically sums of the movie.

It's hard to review or summarize, but essentially it's a journey into Beau's subconscious. Fear of sex, mommy issues, shut down emotions, and unresolved trauma.

I sometimes gauge a movie based on how many times I think about it after I've seen it. For this one, I've been thinking about it all day. There are some really creative, artistic scenes and shots also that keep the viewer interested. Overall it's disjointed and way too long, and definitely not for everyone. 6/10.

After being so mesmerised by hereditary and midsommar I was really looking forward to seeing this. The acting was really good. Joaquin Phoenix never disappoints with his acting Patti LuPone was phenomenal in her scenes. Even Amy, Ryan and Nathan lane had some great moments, but the first hour of the movie, I was really confused the second hour of the movie, I thought okay maybe they will start to explain a little of what is going on the third hour when it all came together I was even more confused. I left the cinema in total confusion. I really want to like this movie. I neither hate it nor love it.

I remember seeing a headline a few weeks ago in which it was claimed that Ari Aster dropped some LSD before a premiere. I don't know if that's true or not, or whether he takes psychedelics at all, but the man walks around with an imagination that is perpetually, creatively tripping. Like a colorful virus, he infects audiences with "Beau is Afraid" - a mind-bending journey of a film which I wish many people would see, but could only realistically recommend to a short list of open-minded friends.

This behemoth is a lot to digest in one sitting. It's not carried by its characters so much as it is by hypnagogic artillery fire of imaginative sets and set-pieces, most of which have rhyme and reason for existing but some, probably none. The actual plot consists of a paranoid man's surreal, Kafkaesque odyssey to appease his domineering mother. Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) lives in a world where his every decision is governed by assertive women, and every woman leads back to his mother. He's emasculated, directionless, and, as he points out himself, personality-less. The environments around him are nonsense to us. Strangers form theater troupes in the woods, seedy cities are filled with caricatures of real people; anyone's sentence can become a jarring non sequitur at any moment, and no event is guaranteed to be permanent. These depictions are of course exaggerated - but it's hard to separate what is and is not Beau's reality. It's like a strange dream, and the best comparisons I can make are to David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" or Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut."

But I've only described what this movie is like, and not WHY it is like. Plenty is up for interpretation. At the bottom line, however, is a creative director exploring themes of perceived guilt in awesome, if not totally bonkers ways. Anybody with a narcissistic parent will relate to parts of the film, as well as anyone who is unsure of themselves, or frets over every action (and inaction) they take. I think of Tyrion Lannister's line in "Game of Thrones," defending himself in front of a father who hates him: "I've been on trial my WHOLE LIFE." Beau is literally put on trial for his whole life. There are people who feel this way about an extreme mother. I've got to believe Ari's speaking some personal truths here.

People who saw it before me had mixed reactions - giddy, disturbed, exhausted, confused. I can empathize with all of these. Though Beau held my attention for the entire 3-hour runtime, his performance is draining. And it should be no surprise that the man behind "Midsommar," "Hereditary" and "The Strange Thing about the Johnsons" locks this in with a good deal of shock value. His brand includes bringing out emotion through whatever means necessary, and it will turn some people off. My best advice is to give yourself completely to the experience. Don't try to follow the discombobulated world of Beau too closely, or you'll fall off a cliff every time. Sit back, enjoy yourself, and laugh where you can; there's maybe never been a more twisted humorist at work here.

7.5/10 for reminding me of the time my dad showed me "Mulholland Drive" and I spent a week trying to decipher it.

What do I even say? I don't know. This movie broke my brain. I'm seriously stuck. It's been two hours and my mind is still racing.

Like the headline, much of what I say may sound negative, but I mean it in the best possible way. This movie is indescribably weird, outlandish, absurd and insane. So many times I thought to myself, "What am I watching?"

This is dark comedy at it's finest. It's so messed up. And I was cracking up. Like everything else in this movie, it takes it to the extreme.

The directing, cinematography and music work together to fully hypnotize me. It's so creative and imaginative with so many things I've never seen or could possibly imagine.

Beau Is Afraid feels like four movies combined into one. That seems like a terrible idea. But each one is amazing. And they all work together. I don't understand how he did it. Ari Aster is clearly way smarter than me.

There are long scenes of dialogue but I was fully glued. And there is usually other stuff going on during those scenes, like something funny in the background or interesting details in the set design. It made me even more engaged as I tried to catch everything.

In an age where so many movies fail to stand out in any way, Beau Is Afraid stands out in every way. It's not for the faint of heart. I think some people will hate it. But if you've seen Hereditary or Midsommar, you know what you're in for. It's very different from them. But just like those movies, it'll remind you how much a great movie can affect you.

(3 viewings, early screening IMAX 4/18/2023, IMAX 4/26/2023, 4/28/2025)

A fascinating movie with an exceptional ending, can't tell how much I enjoyed the movie and the ending reminded me of another masterpiece the stranger by Albert Camus... Only this time the mother herself is the judge.

The thing that makes this movie precious is that we don't see young directors delivering these kinds of movies specially at this quality. Anyway I'm not a professional when it comes to movies and I'm not sure what to call the genre of Bea is afraid but for sure it's my favorite. The only bothering point is the length of the movie which makes it hard to be watched several times and at the same time it requires you to do so.