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Director Ari Aster didn’t need to make this movie. He didn’t need his third feature film to prove that he is one of the boldest auteurs working in the industry today. And yet with his surrealist comedy-horror “Beau Is Afraid,” which Aster wrote and directed, he goes above and beyond in making an odyssey that features one of cinema’s most anxious protagonists ever, the titular Beau Wassermann (Joaquin Phoenix).

“Beau is Afraid” feels like a departure from Aster’s first two feature films, which were confined strictly to the horror genre. He also makes the themes of his latest film less concrete. “Hereditary” was clearly about generational trauma. “Midsommar” was a disturbing tale about moving on from an ex-boyfriend. “Beau Is Afraid” could be about a whole range of ideas like a boy’s relationship with a controlling mother, impotence or how anxiety impacts someone’s perception of the world.

Aster uses the movie’s three-hour runtime and four-chapter structure to examine these ideas and portray them in his own distinct and disturbing way to create one of 2023’s best films so far. “Beau Is Afraid” is not the easiest to watch. There are also several plot twists in the final act that range from unsurprising and tame to shocking and gory. But it leaves Beau’s past ambiguous enough to keep viewers intrigued with some of the finest cinematography from frequent collaborator Pawel Pogorzelski and a unique portrayal of anxiety on screen.

The film focuses on Beau, who lives alone in a crime-ridden city, trying to visit his mother Mona (Patti LuPone) on the anniversary of his father’s death, who supposedly passed away in the middle of conceiving Beau. In the first chapter, viewers see that he lives in constant fear of basically everything, which turns mundane actions like taking a bath, getting water for medications or even ejaculating during sex into life-or-death scenarios. The intensity of Beau’s anxiety and the pure insanity of those around him leads to a chaotic sequence where he gets hit by a car, setting us up for chapter two of this story.

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The woman who hits Beau, Grace (Amy Ryan) and her husband Roger (Nathan Lane) take care of him after he learns via phone call of the mysterious death of his mother. While Beau stays with Grace and Roger, he meets their angry teenage daughter, Toni (Kylie Rogers), and learns of the couple’s deceased war hero son. This tension between the daughter and the house guest leads to Toni’s suicide after trying to make Beau drink paint, filling Grace with rage toward Beau and sending a man to kill him.

With Beau now on the run, the third chapter of the movie takes place in the woods, where he encounters a theater troupe in the forest and imagines himself as a protagonist in a play, beautifully portrayed in an extended animated sequence. This dazzling section of the film, animated by Chilean artists Cristobal León & Joaquín Cociña, reveals what he wants for his future. While the animated sequence features Beau being separated from his imaginary family, he still embarks on a fulfilling journey that results in an impossibly happy life.

The final chapter of the movie takes place at Mona’s home, where Beau misses her funeral, but finds old love interest Elaine (Parker Posey) and learns shocking revelations about his family before encountering horrific monstrosities and dying. As the story proceeds, Aster also bombards the viewer with Beau’s vivid dreams and memories of his mother and Elaine.

Throughout his journey from his hellish inner-city apartment to his mother’s lakeside mansion in the suburbs, Beau is never in control. Even when he is talking to his therapist (Stephen McKinley Henderson) about how to interact with Mona, he is shown in a submissive position through high angle shots. The therapist also tries to keep Beau talking about his mother, with Pogorzelski going in and out of focus to show the young Wassermann is not controlling the scene.

In Aster’s two previous films, there’s always a ton of detail and action in the background of each shot, daring the viewer to solve the puzzle before the finale. There are enough hints and visual clues (some of which Beau sees for a brief moment) to make the several plot twists in the final act not seem too far fetched. Not only does this give the audience a rewarding viewing experience, but the easter eggs merit giving this bizarre nightmare comedy a second viewing.

Aster and Pogorzelski use another old trademark from “Hereditary” — quick transitions from night to day even as there is on screen movement — to show how anxious Beau gets. Simultaneously, the director and cinematographer duo use plenty of shaky cam and whip pans to ramp up the pace and Beau’s stress. Phoenix also gives a great performance once again, capturing the terror his character feels at every turn.

As the film enters its last chapter, there are narrative curveballs being thrown left and right. While it is never explicitly revealed, we truly get an understanding that Beau’s fate was controlled by his mother. She heavily medicated him throughout his entire life and used him to further her success as a businesswoman. It harkens back to Aster’s earlier works like “Hereditary,” where the actions of the parents inevitably doomed the children and grandchildren. While “Hereditary” feels unavoidable, “Beau Is Afraid” feels like death by quicksand.

It also throws into question how real Beau’s interactions are with other characters. During the film, everyone seems hostile. From random people on the street to Toni, everyone seems angry and vicious toward Beau. But the reveal of how many medications he was given over the years begs the question of whether or not his experience was real.

It’s these lingering questions that keep Aster’s third film, a reworking of a short film he made over a decade ago, so engrossing yet disturbing. “Beau Is Afraid” doesn’t care about being shocking or even scary. The film’s humor and plot may seem self-indulgent. But if you’re looking for an audacious and surreal take on a boy’s relationship with his mother that is littered with sex jokes, then you shouldn’t be afraid to watch this movie.

Published on April 24, 2023 at 9:34 pm

Contact Henry: henrywobrien1123@gmail.com