Terrible thing to live, in fear. All I want is for things to make sense, where I won’t have to be afraid all the time. Well, no offense to Red, but he ain’t got nothing on Beau Wasserman. Or should I say, Ari Aster? Aster puts years of anxiety therapy onscreen with Beau Is Afraid, an epic unholy combination of the Odyssey and the Book of Job for Beau, to the twisted humor and delight of the audience.
Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) opens the movie living in a crime ridden terrifying version of a big city. Riddled with guilt and anxiety, Beau meets with a therapist (Stephen McKinley Henderson) regularly, but even moreso at the moment. That’s because his mother Mona (Patti LuPone) is excited for him to come home and see him, which might trigger a host of fearful memories Beau isn’t exactly eager to deal with. A series of circumstances lead Beau to miss his flight home…and also send him on the epic fever nightmare of a lifetime.
I truly hope Ari Aster sees a therapist. In this movie, Beau goes through nearly all possible types of existential dread a grown man could have to deal with in multiple lifetimes, let alone Beau’s one. Aster’s direction essentially makes you feel like you’re in Beau’s head, one step removed from reality, feeling all the nervous emotions he is feeling. The sheer amount of fear gets exasperating at times, but when the movie can find smart critiques outside of Beau’s head, it’s as potent as any filmmaking I’ve seen this year. Particularly strong are the first two episodes: one in the city, one in the suburbs, where the movie smartly puts decades worth of broadcast news “if it bleeds it leads” fears into the vivid hearts and minds of the audience watching. Plus, familial conflict, especially with your mom, is basically ubiquitous. Though in Aster’s hands, we definitely hit worst case scenario stuff.
Personally, with Midsommar and Hereditary, I found Aster’s balance of horror and comedy to be teetered in the wrong direction: two movies that deadly serious lose me when they do something profoundly weird and funny. Beau Is Afraid is much more of a fit to Aster, capturing that weird dark belly laughter you give when something’s so profoundly unsettling that’s the only reaction. The bold confidence of Aster’s direction finds this amazing two level storytelling, maybe best seen in the suburbs section. There, onscreen we see a confused Beau dealing with this very nice couple (Amy Ryan and Nathan Lane, both exceptional). Beau’s feet are firmly planted in the real world: but everything around him, including the couple, are not, spouting phrases and words like they’re in a Leave It to Beaver episode from the 1950s. So while Joaquin is requisitely looking more and more confused and scared, the audience is laughing to death from the absurdity which then Beau is probably imagining in his own head, making him in turn more desperate and anxious. And just as the plot pushes things into slightly more serious territory, Beau is on the run again, in a new location, and we reset. Ari Aster mostly walks this more light tonal balance just right in Beau Is Afraid, making the movie’s length and ambition much more digestible as a result.
One nice thing I’ll say for anyone going to watch Beau Is Afraid unsure of what they’re going to see. If 25 minutes in you’re not into what this movie is doing, then walk out, it’s only gonna provide you more of the same. But if you find this movie’s wavelength like I did, you’ll be excited to sit and see what new emotional anxiety breakthrough Ari Aster has for you next. Also, if you want to make a movie about fragile men, I’m sorry, Joaquin Phoenix has cornered the market on that character at this point.