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Beau Is Afraid Movie Review

Beau Is Afraid is a 2023 tragicomedy horror film directed by Ari Aster and starring Joaquin Phoenix. It’s one of the most original movies of the year.

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“I really thought I was gonna die, my whole life“

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Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic, Kafkaesque odyssey back home. Ari Aster continues to be one of the most unique directors working today. ‘Hereditary’ and ‘Midsommar’ were two modern masterpieces of the horror genre, but Beau Is Afraid is Aster’s first feature that is something different tonally.

It’s about a man who is so tortured and paranoid that his mental illness (probably paranoid schizophrenia) prevents him from having a normal life. He starts imagining these wildly elaborate and deeply disturbing scenes and imagery that haunt him and break him down. The world building in this movie is absolutely astonishing as the protagonist’s mental illness was just an excuse for Aster to basically make what is essentially a full-blown fantasy epic.

Functioning pretty much as a dark fairy tale, Beau Is Afraid is often compared to Greek tragedies, but Aster was obviously much more influenced by Kafka in his paranoid thriller overtones and Charlie Kaufman in the trippy, elaborate world building employed here. The inventiveness and imagination was mind-blowing to witness. There is this stage sequence that almost functions as an animated short movie within a larger film and it was both gorgeous and very emotionally resonant.

But the thing that surprised me the most about this movie is how damn funny it is. It’s actually quite hilarious at times and at first that disturbed me as I questioned my own sanity that I was able to laugh at the horrible things happening to this poor, disturbed soul, but eventually I came to the realization that this was the main purpose of the movie that is in essence a glorious tragicomedy. It is very difficult to make a tragicomedy that works as it has to be both touching and funny, but Aster somehow mostly managed to pull it off.

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I am not the biggest fan of Joaquin Phoenix myself, but even I have to admit that he killed it in this movie. First of all, he was perfectly cast and entirely believable as the deeply tortured main character. He sold the protagonist’s continuously confounded and horrified personality and it’s easily one of his best works so far in his career.

If there is one issue with the movie besides its over-indulgent runtime (three hours was just too much for this story), it has to be the refusal to actually delve deeper into its main character’s issues. There is a terrific sequence near the end with his mother played brilliantly by the phenomenally cast Patti LuPone, but an even stronger emphasis on the psychological underpinnings of this troubled man would have made for a more sophisticated and emotionally resonant viewing experience.

But on the other hand, Beau Is Afraid focuses more on the world that he creates in his mind, which was a great choice as it led to such a grandiose, cinematic and almost mythological story that benefits from fantastic cinematography, a great score and tremendous production design with so many elaborately constructed sets. It’s a frustratingly overlong and almost one-note flick, but one that is undeniably creative and funny in its many ridiculously over-the-top scenarios (the paint sequence was particularly funny and unhinged).

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