Movie Review: Beau is Afraid
Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2025 5:08 pm
The reviews for this looked great. RT has it at 70%. Letterboxd at 3.4 stars. Sounds like a winner.
Quick overview: Joaquin Phoenix is a middle aged neurotic with mommy issues, goes on a Homer-esque adventure, and dies...or gets reborn, maybe.
The Good
Joaquin Phoenix is believable in this role. He plays it straight and sincere for all 180 minutes of bloated run time. I really admire his performance here.
The set pieces are BEAUTIFUL. The street scenes and apartment scenes in the beginning are some of the best I've ever seen. Really, really impressive. Cinematography is terrific. Sound was good. Every actor is fully committed to their role. I can see this film winning awards for its excellent execution. Film students will study Aster's technique for a long time. It's that good.
The Bad
The plot is a chaotic series of misfortune and confusion. It doesn't make sense. It isn't designed to make sense. It's supposed to be immersive and muddled but I failed to get lost in the story. And maybe that's on me. I enjoyed Gulliver's Travels, James and the Giant Peach, and other stories that specialize in unabashed oddity but could not get into this one, probably because I kept expecting the director to reward his viewers with plot resolutions. I was left wanting over and over again, but I'm getting into The Ugly. Suffice it to say, anyone considering watching, take some shrooms or drop a little acid. I watched it stone sober and believe me it needs a little third eye perspective.
Ari Aster, the director, uses long take shots too often. It gets formulaic. Long holds should be used sparingly so they are stark. This film uses long hold as the norm. I don't care for it, but again, film students will study his techniques for a long time.
The Ugly
There is no resolution. No catharsis for the viewer. The movie is a jumble of about 50 plot devices that interact and weave through the story. None of them resolve in middle or at the end. For example, there's a warning on his apartment door about a deadly spider. I kept waiting for the spider to be significant or portentous. It isn't.
Beau is prescribed a new anxiety drug but he must take it with water. Why? Because.
Beau's mom told him he'll die if he ever orgasms during sex. Dad died when he nutted into Beau's mom. Grandpa died when he nutted into grandma. Great-grandpa died the same way. Beau avoids women, naturally. This is part of his neurosis but he finally says fuckit and does the deed at 49 years old. But wait, he doesn't die! For some reason the woman he's fucking dies during HER orgasm and immediately becomes a frozen statue. How? Why? Because.
Beau later goes into the attic and meets his ¿Brother? His twin? Dunno. It's not clear who this bearded man is and it's never mentioned again. In the attic Beau is attacked by a 10' tall anthropomorphic cock and balls whose pubes are weapons. A third dude crashes through the attic window and helps Beau fight this anthropomorphic dick. How did third dude get on the roof to crash through the window? Why is he helping Beau fight Jabba the Cock? Dunno, but third guy dies by pubic hair to the dome and is never mentioned again. The ¿brother? is never seen on screen or mentioned again. Later, Beau is told by his mother that Jabba the Cock is his real dad. How and why did she fuck a sharp-toothed talking dick the diameter of a five gallon bucket? Because. Don't think about it. NEXT SCENE!
In fact, that should be the summary for this movie. Why? Because. Don't think about it. Next scene!
Random thoughts: The movie felt like a bit of a slam on California. Crime is rampant, the cops are corrupt, if you leave your door unlocked the homeless will have an orgy and stick a show through your computer. Everyone is on drugs. Some live in the streets, some in subsidized housing, some are surgeons in fancy houses, some live in forest communes, some are so wealthy they have a town named after them, but all of them are popping a pill or smoking an herb. Why does the director hate California? Because. Don't think about it. Next scene.
Quick overview: Joaquin Phoenix is a middle aged neurotic with mommy issues, goes on a Homer-esque adventure, and dies...or gets reborn, maybe.
The Good
Joaquin Phoenix is believable in this role. He plays it straight and sincere for all 180 minutes of bloated run time. I really admire his performance here.
The set pieces are BEAUTIFUL. The street scenes and apartment scenes in the beginning are some of the best I've ever seen. Really, really impressive. Cinematography is terrific. Sound was good. Every actor is fully committed to their role. I can see this film winning awards for its excellent execution. Film students will study Aster's technique for a long time. It's that good.
The Bad
The plot is a chaotic series of misfortune and confusion. It doesn't make sense. It isn't designed to make sense. It's supposed to be immersive and muddled but I failed to get lost in the story. And maybe that's on me. I enjoyed Gulliver's Travels, James and the Giant Peach, and other stories that specialize in unabashed oddity but could not get into this one, probably because I kept expecting the director to reward his viewers with plot resolutions. I was left wanting over and over again, but I'm getting into The Ugly. Suffice it to say, anyone considering watching, take some shrooms or drop a little acid. I watched it stone sober and believe me it needs a little third eye perspective.
Ari Aster, the director, uses long take shots too often. It gets formulaic. Long holds should be used sparingly so they are stark. This film uses long hold as the norm. I don't care for it, but again, film students will study his techniques for a long time.
The Ugly
There is no resolution. No catharsis for the viewer. The movie is a jumble of about 50 plot devices that interact and weave through the story. None of them resolve in middle or at the end. For example, there's a warning on his apartment door about a deadly spider. I kept waiting for the spider to be significant or portentous. It isn't.
Beau is prescribed a new anxiety drug but he must take it with water. Why? Because.
Beau's mom told him he'll die if he ever orgasms during sex. Dad died when he nutted into Beau's mom. Grandpa died when he nutted into grandma. Great-grandpa died the same way. Beau avoids women, naturally. This is part of his neurosis but he finally says fuckit and does the deed at 49 years old. But wait, he doesn't die! For some reason the woman he's fucking dies during HER orgasm and immediately becomes a frozen statue. How? Why? Because.
Beau later goes into the attic and meets his ¿Brother? His twin? Dunno. It's not clear who this bearded man is and it's never mentioned again. In the attic Beau is attacked by a 10' tall anthropomorphic cock and balls whose pubes are weapons. A third dude crashes through the attic window and helps Beau fight this anthropomorphic dick. How did third dude get on the roof to crash through the window? Why is he helping Beau fight Jabba the Cock? Dunno, but third guy dies by pubic hair to the dome and is never mentioned again. The ¿brother? is never seen on screen or mentioned again. Later, Beau is told by his mother that Jabba the Cock is his real dad. How and why did she fuck a sharp-toothed talking dick the diameter of a five gallon bucket? Because. Don't think about it. NEXT SCENE!
In fact, that should be the summary for this movie. Why? Because. Don't think about it. Next scene!
Random thoughts: The movie felt like a bit of a slam on California. Crime is rampant, the cops are corrupt, if you leave your door unlocked the homeless will have an orgy and stick a show through your computer. Everyone is on drugs. Some live in the streets, some in subsidized housing, some are surgeons in fancy houses, some live in forest communes, some are so wealthy they have a town named after them, but all of them are popping a pill or smoking an herb. Why does the director hate California? Because. Don't think about it. Next scene.
