Beau is Afraid
Written by Cameron Geiser
Warning: minor spoilers for Beau is Afraid are in this review. Reader discretion is advised.
Is Ari Aster okay?
That’s one of the first things I thought when leaving the theater after watching Beau is Afraid: a three hour twisted take on the hero’s journey- if the hero was absolutely consumed by anxiety, guilt, and shame. Nothing against the director, it’s more of a mental health check than an accusation. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Beau, a bundle of tightly wound neuroses, fears, and mother issues. Beau lives in a high anxiety version of modern society in which he initially plans on catching a flight to see his mother. However, when a task as simple as crossing the street feels like its own unique nightmare, things aren’t as easy as they might seem.
Beau is Afraid takes Beau on a journey through space (in a geographical sense), time, and abstraction as he goes from one adoptive family to the next. The finer details of exactly how and why should be left to discover whilst watching, but as an indicator of how insane this movie is, let me describe just a few things that happen. A horde of homeless people swarm Beau’s apartment and lock him out, forcing him to watch as strangers ransack his home from outside his window all night. At one point a character literally drinks paint straight from the can as violently as possible. There’s also a naked killer on the loose called ‘Birthday Boy Stab Man’ and he lives up to that name.
Beau is Afraid is like watching the hero’s journey if it was as twisted as can be.
More than anything else, Beau is Afraid is a conversation starter. The friend that went with me on this cinematic journey was similarly perplexed and just as in awe of the film. We were constantly discussing aspects of it hours after leaving the theater, and this kind of obsession and analysis of a film is why I love films and film criticism. There’s so much to dive into with Beau is Afraid that yields continuous fascination. During the first act, I’ve read that Ari Aster gave individual direction and character notes to every single extra, which seems insane to me, but I love that attention to detail. Then there’s the immaculate sound design which elevates even the calmer conversation scenes into an agitated state with background noise that builds and crescendos for the needs of any given scene.
I’ve heard many critiques of this film that complain that Beau is Afraid is too indulgent to the director’s very specific neuroses and overly long given the nature of the film. Is it perfect? No, definitely not, but I can’t help but be enamored with filmmakers that take big risky swings like this. There are some irksome aspects for sure, many scenes could have been tightened, but Beau is Afraid wouldn’t have had the same immersion without those static moments. For a movie that’s as intense as often as this one is for most of its runtime, it’s a tactic that totally throws its audience off kilter. Which very well may have been the intent, it was just a bit frustrating. Especially when the energy of the whole film is so frantic and speeding along at such a frenzied pace that when it comes to a screeching halt it makes moments of silence either feel pained, or occasionally elated- a moment to breathe. Beau is Afraid is truly a weird one, but it’s that willingness to go to strange, off putting, and frankly bizarre places that make it stand out. Take a chance and go see this very strange and adrenaline producing anxiety epic.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.