Film director Michelangelo Antonioni once said, “A film that can be described in words is not really a film.” Since it’s nearly impossible to describe the new dark comedy Beau Is Afraid (now playing in theaters nationwide), I suppose that makes this a film with a capital “F.”
Beau Is Afraid is the story of one helplessly fear-stricken man’s stress-inducing, anxiety-ridden, paranoia-packed odyssey to see his late mother amidst the threats of a harrowing world. Written and directed by Ari Aster, the film is equal parts absurd and visually astounding, and by its end will leave audiences speechless and confounded as to what they just experienced.
Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) is a sensitive, inept sadsack who lives in a comically uninhabitable version of New York’s inner-city, constantly evading a world of psychos who threaten his everyday life. As Beau’s misfortune would have it, on the day he is to visit his doting mother (who he admits smothered him since he was a child during a therapy session in the film’s opening scene), he loses his keys, leaving him helpless to break the news that he is to stay home. When he receives the news of her unexpected demise just one day later, against all of his fears, he sets forth to journey to her through a world of dangers that lie in front of him.
Beau Is Afraid is a big bundle of childhood anxieties and unprocessed emotions wrapped up in a 2-hour and 59-minute runtime. It’s also a fascinating journey through many imaginative and distinct worlds, including a deliriously deranged low-rent apartment building where he lives; a suburban home with suspiciously kind parents (Amy Ryan and Nathan Lane); a forest-turned-full-on animated parable; and then a nightmare-ending that is the film’s most head-spinning part.
Audiences are likely familiar with writer-director Ari Aster’s previous films, Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019), which were both equally polarizing and shocking for their depictions of horror and traumas around the devastating losses of family. Beau Is Afraid is a painfully punishing movie that stuffs guilt, trauma, and physical injury upon its lead character, and Joaquin Phoenix is up to the challenge. Pushing his bloated body to the brink through physical and psychological torture, Phoenix is nothing short of amazing here. He’s joined by comic performances from Nathan Lane and Amy Ryan, as well as Stephen McKinley Henderson as Beau’s therapist. In its last, and most WTF section, Parker Posey and Patti LuPone show up to push the film over its edge of sanity.
Beau Is Afraid is a work of incredible artistry (indie distributor A24 should get a special mention for producing a movie that is so defiantly unique, challenging, and original–much like how they did with last year’s Everything Everywhere All At Once). It’s been fun to talk about Beau Is Afraid, and its word-of-mouth seems to continue to grow, making for conversations around this deranged psychoanalytic dive into unprocessed childhood trauma that Freud would have a field day dissecting.
If you’re looking for a dose of easily watchable popcorn entertainment, this film is not for you. Whether you end up loving or hating it, don’t be afraid to check it out for yourself.
2h 59m. Rated R for strong violent content, sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, and language.
