Search - Beau Is Afraid [DVD] on DVD

B.J. W. (analogkid01) from CHICAGO, IL
Reviewed on 4/12/2024...

Well, I finally did it. I sat down and watched all three hours of writer/director Ari Aster's latest opus, "Beau is Afraid." Am I glad I did it? Yes. Would I do it again? No. Should you do it? Also no.

Generational trauma is Aster's bread and butter. His previous two features addressed the issue from straightforward horror (Hereditary) and creepy cult (Midsommar) perspectives, and were both very well-made and enjoyable films (although your definition of "enjoyable" may differ from mine).

The titular Beau grows up hearing the story of how his grandfather and his father both died in the process of conceiving the subsequent generation, and this is what he is afraid of. He lives an insular life until he's essentially forced to leave his apartment in his rough neighborhood, and embarks on a road trip to attend the funeral of his mother.

The second of Beau's three hours is the most enjoyable. Once he gets out of his stress-inducing neighborhood and meets up with other characters, the film becomes enjoyable to watch, but the first 40 minutes are pretty rough - I confess I watched the first act at 2x speed because I couldn't see myself sitting through three hours of *that* but still wanted to see where the story was going.

Aster plays with Beau's perception of reality and I didn't mind it at first...there's some hints that Beau's father isn't really dead but that thread isn't resolved to any sort of satisfying conclusion. Nor are the closing surreal scenes involving a giant penis monster living in the attic of his mother's home, or Beau's "trial" in a water-logged arena. Water is a recurring theme in the film; Beau's last name is Wassermann, "wasser" being the German word for "water." It's always a negative force in Beau's life, though, and provides his ultimate demise.
Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Parker Posey, and Patti LuPone make up the rest of the cast and provide some relief from the oppressive tone of the film.

I'm honestly looking forward to whatever Aster does next, but you can safely skip Beau is Afraid. It's just...too much.

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 12/9/2023...

Dives deep into misery with no return on sight. Fan of Joaquin Phoenix but regretted seeing and even 120X FF this one. You should be afraid! Hide!

Walter K. (WalterKuzens) from CLACKAMAS, OR
Reviewed on 10/23/2023...

Overly long, meandering, incomprehensible at times, boring at others. I understand and enjoy absurdist/abstract/difficult/artistic movies, and the first maybe 30 minutes were indeed engaging (though a bit staged) but then it just kept dragging on. Rarely did I feel sucked into, or immersed in, the moment. Quite often I longed to press the fast forward button, or at least mute the constant whining of Mr. Phoenix.

So it's a bit about incest apparently, though that was pretty obvious in the first 30 minutes. Once I gave up and DID start skipping chapters I ran into a section where it sounded like the voice of his mother was either talking to him, or narrating, I'm not sure. Her pace was much like the movie; slow, boring. I kept skipping chapters/scenes and it was just the same slow, nothing going on. It wound up being yet another movie I gave up on.

I enjoyed Hereditary immensely, and remain hopeful Midsommar is good, but after Beau is Afraid I have doubts, and won't be as excited to hear he's made a new flick in the future.

0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.