Reviewed by Julian Lytle
Grade: C
Man, sometimes you see a film, and it just screams – A. R. T. and that is what we have here with Ari Aster’s new film Beau is Afraid. A film about an anxiety-ridden man who has a complicated relationship with his mother is a film that will challenge and frustrate many.
With its three-hour runtime and nightmare-like structure, Beau is Afraid is not for the faint of heart. It’s not a horror per se, but it does have moments of extreme tension with little moments of sprinkled in humor. Joaquin Phoenix does very well as Beau in showing just how fearful and confused this man is inside his world, at all times. Actors Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, and Stephen McKinley Henderson do some very good work here as different characters that Beau has to interact with and vary from surreal characters to very authentic feeling people.
Patti LuPone and Parker Posey play the two major supporting characters as the two significant women in Beau’s adult life. While we don’t see them until the last third of the film, they are very impactful when they enter the story with very interesting performances.
Now honestly, this is a film I didn’t connect with in terms of story at all. Still, there is a strong handle of craft going on here with its filmmaking, and I can see it tackling its themes in interesting ways that I don’t think everyone (as seen from some public early Twitter reactions) and myself rock with. While it is Art, I don’t know if it’s Art that everyone needs to take time to go see.
Originally posted on the Geek Girl Riot podcast on idobi.com
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