Beau Is Afraid - Review!

Joaquin Phoenix and Ari Aster team up for a movie that's definitely unique - and a whole lot more!

YOU CAN GET ALL MY SHOWS ON AUDIO NOW!

[bokehintheussr]

The bad reviews of this movie are like "very self-indulgent", and "I didn't really get it", and the good reviews are like "very self-indulgent" and "I didn't really get it". I love movies like that.

[RosieDean]

I saw it last night and the audience in my theater reacted the exact same way. As soon as ending credits started there was this eerie silence… nobody knew what to say.

[austincarlson]

"Film criticism is analysis, it's not debate"

Didn't expect Dan to come in with that heat today. 🔥

[waywardmind]

I appreciate there are still directors willing to take big swings. Ari Aster is definitely one of those filmmakers. This particular movie might not have worked for many people, but it still has such a fantastic visual style, which is something that can be appreciated separately (for some people). Thanks for the review, Dan!

[Psilocybin]

I both appreciate and have a high tolerance for the interminably weird. I have not been to a theater in years, and plan on seeing "Beau is Afraid" just to witness people's reactions.

[lastminutesavior]

If Dan is confused by this one, I'll be completely lost.

[coreartalex]

Beau is Afraid is for Anxious people as Melancholia is for depressive people

[halfstaffmusic]

when i saw it, the audience's 'energy loss' felt more like intrigue/entertainment moving toward this quiet reverence for how wildly bold and, at times, downright terrifying it became

[vitordias]

If you have loved ones in your family and/or friends who struggle with extreme anxiety and intrusive thoughts, you should watch this movie, it's a perfect window into how we spiral into our own imagination of absurd consequences for mundane actions.

[thealjohnsonshow]

Guarantee you that this movie won't do well financially, but will have people complaining about how Hollywood lacks originality even though movies like this exist for people to watch.

[jksgameshelf]

Just seeing the look on your face in the thumbnail made me have to watch this review and, wow, you hit all the key points of how I felt when I saw it (although I missed seeing it in IMAX and am kind of sad about that). I was all in for that first act and the world-building of Beau's neighborhood was great. And the stay with Amy Ryan and Nathan Lane was really intriguing, as well. I also loved the initial start of the sequence in the woods and the start of the animated dream sequence, but then that just started to drag and little by little I was more confused and also less interested. I totally agree that the filmmaking was fantastic, especially the cinematography, but also set design, and Joaquin's performance was great (as was the rest of the cast). But the script definitely seemed unfocused and I really ended up feeling every minute of that run time, and your comparison with "Babylon" was pretty perfect. About three decades ago when I went to see David Cronenberg's film version of "Naked Lunch" I'll never forget at the end of the final scene when the screen cut to black followed by the 'Directed by David Cronenberg' title, a guy seated a few rows ahead of me just yelled "WHAT!?". At the end of "Beau is Afraid", while there's no cut to black, the director credit coming up over that final shot prompted the guy seated right in front of me to just throw up his hands in a similar silent gesture. I both want to watch this film again and also never want to waste another three hours. But, props to Ari for creating his vision, even if he really did need someone to perhaps guide him to a more cohesive, but no less artisticly expressed, story.

[gustavogirotto]

Hey Dan, I don’t comment here very often… but you are a great movie critic. It always impresses me how you tackle films like this in such a clear, objective and interesting way.

[ebtrsi]

I appreciate you using one of the lines from the movie at 6:30. "both of these feelings can co-exist"

[Shmoonify]

Saw this today, love that the audience was split between people laughing truly enjoying it, and people walking out. Those of us who remained til the end also either just sat there in silence while others left cursing or just in disbelief, it was a brilliant film

[EvGriff]

I think what some people don't like about this film are it's most raw and very intentional aspects. I found it exhausting by the end as well, but so is anxiety. This film is a stunningly exact portrait of anxious daydreams or restless nights of sleep.
Overlong, leaps in logic, no sequiturs of thought taken to their logical and dramatic extremes in between completely separate thoughts, overblown snd emotionally explosive, and just deeply discomforting.
This film is a view into what it is like to live with a brain working on overdrive and even if it isn't perfect i appreciate the things that don't click for that reason, everything in it has purpose.

[JJScrotus]

Great review, Dan!
I really enjoyed the film because so many of the themes and scenarios in the film have a direct correlation to MY therapy.
If I didn't have my personal, and a lot of it recent, life experience I would have been left utterly bewildered by the ending of the film.
I'm just glad art like this exists.

[nubianfx]

I feel like every stylistically distinct film director gets to a point where they need to be edited.
For me, Tenet was the film of Chris Nolas where is said yep, maybe too indulgently Nolan.
The French Dispatch is where Wes Anderson reached the tipping point.
M Nights career is littered with movies where its would have been advisable to scale back on the M night tendacies.
And so on.. and its entirely possible that this is the Ari Aster movie where we say yep, he may need to dial it back down a few notches.

[obara]

Love your statement/thesis on film criticism. We're all humans with our own lived experiences. No one person can see the whole shape, but as we discuss, we can get closer to seeingbthe full picture.

Always love ya, Dan. Keep being wonderful.

[cdub]

This is the best non-spoiler review for this movie. It’s so weird, it’s nearly impossible to explain.

[kelsanggyudzhin]

Dan's got the same face on the thumbnail that I have watching the trailers lol