BEAU IS AFRAID (2023) Explained

#beauisafraid #endingexplained

In Beau is Afraid, following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man (Joaquin Phoenix) confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic, Kafkaesque odyssey back home. This one is a real doozy, with all kinds of craziness that unfolds over its massive three hour runtime. We're breaking down Beau's epic journey, the important themes at play, and explaining the bizarre ending.

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FoundFlix
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[matildarose]

So much of this feels like a metaphor of how anxiety disorders feel like to a person, and how it makes negative experiences go from 'I made a mistake' to 'I am the worst person ever'. With anxiety disorders, you always think pf the worst case scenerio, even if it is completely ridiculous.

Couple this with a mother who is suffering from her own disorders. We don't know the full picture of his mother, but we know the parts he's had to deal with: perfectionist, controlling, narcissistic.

It's a portrait of a person with a severe anxiety disorder going through a mental breakdown, with an increasingly surreal world where everything you try to attach to for love/stability capsizes, or comes at a cost.

[VelociRachel]

The first time I watched this I went, "Damn I hope FoundFlix talks about this" because I had NO idea what was going on. SO THANK YOU!!!

[cherrrymilk]

As someone who has severe anxiety that’s resulted in agoraphobia, this movie feels so real for the dumb stupid fears I deal with, the worst case scenarios and such

[apizzathatgiantforthesimpl]

For me, there is a lot of implication that Mona was SAing Beau, trying to literally morph him into the husband she lost while still attempting to keep him an innocent boy. The anxiety about sex, the one girl he had attraction to acting like his mother, and Mona constantly deflecting all his mistakes and her grievances on him all point to someone who was kept in perpetual childhood for his mother's own sick needs. When Beau started to grow and ask questions, she immediately goes into aggressive mode and pretend that she's being hurt. In reality, Beau is just growing up and Mona can't stand it. She wants to have the best of both worlds, husband and child, all at the same time. Beau also seems to hide from her a great deal, almost as if he's trying to prevent abuse from happening. Beau crying for help at the end is him begging for assistance from his mom's incessant cruelty.

[TonyMontanaXx]

This movie reminds me of when you have a dream and you can’t even do the simplest stuff without all this crap happening lol.

[misuvittupaa]

When I was homeless and was sleeping in my secret base(it was a attic type thing in a business building) and I woke to two electricians working on the electric box there. I said good morning and I'll get going. But then they said they are almost done and to stay and get more sleep. Maybe someday I'll write my memoirs

[xoxnataiie]

i have bad anxiety and grew up with chronic guilt. this movie hit way too close to home. confusion, scared of the world, and feeling like the worst person in the world. i’m really glad im able to work through it, connect with the world, and realize that there’s nothing wrong with me

[bascal]

I think that the cop thought that Beau was the birthday boy stabber.

[birthdaybatter]

Beau is Afraid and Uncut Gems are the most unrelentingly stressful movies I’ve ever seen

[Midwestemoisme]

the whole theater audibly would go "what the fuck" several times through out the films, it was awesome

[festivus]

When I saw the thumbnail, I thought "Holy shit, he's actually gonna try and explain it..."

Most people will not like this movie. I loved it. I also hated it. I would not watch it again, but I am glad that I did, and found it in equal parts entertaining and baffling.

My take was that his mother used him as a pharmaceutical test subject when he was a child and did irreparable damage to his mind. Just as he can never tell what's real, neither can we observers.

[digitalhuman]

I loved this movie! I really felt the anxiety and thought process behind Beau’s character! I loved how characters hint that Beau is on trial. He knows he isn’t doing anything wrong, and is desperately trying not to upset anyone around him, but still his actions are seen as transgressions against his mother further cementing why his mind works this way!

[malakhi]

49 minute found flix episode? What a treat!

[BunnyIsntThere]

My interpretation/theory is that Beau was actually too paranoid to be born in the first place. The entire apartment part was his perspective from the womb, where he imagined what the world is based off what his mom tells him- One day he'd be an old man, there's dead bodies in the street, tattooed people are evil, being a big crybaby over a spider, etc. His flight was his actual birthday that he missed because he couldnt lock up behind him and stayed behind, but when he broke away for water his apartment got destroyed and couldn't get back in and has to spend a night on the (abdominal) scaffolding. Once he did get back inside he remembers that someone could barge in and kill him (aborted) so he barricades himself inside and decides maybe he should leave which is when he calls his mom and a delivery person told him that his mom has "lost her head" (in reality Beaus mom is freaking out because her labor has gotten complicated while the person delivering tries to get beau to come out) and after he gets pushed outside in the nude and evades birthday suit stabby man (Dr choppy pp interpretation) he's smacked by a delivery truck (Probably the moment hes spanked)

The next section he's literally saved by Grace, so Beau is probably imagining living with faith off what he's been told as well- The father performs miracles, their only son sacrificed their life, they have a recording of everything that has and will happen. The buzzer he uses to first call Grace is like an answered prayer, and the first thing Grace asks is "Did you press the button [Pray]?". The medicated (conditioned) soldiers name is Jeeves like a butler, so we can imply he does what told while Grace also mentions he doesnt know what hes doing, so he might be a representation of the unconscious followers. After Grace turns and sees Beau as a demon she grabs a sword which could symbolize waging war, because she then uses the soldier for perceived revenge. Importantly, in some faiths people are born sinners before they're purified, so this could be a root for his anxiety- that he's "guilty" before he's even done anything. There's a religious billboard outside Beaus apartment window that could symbolize both how big of a presence religion has in Beaus existence and also how he believes it's always looming overhead observing him. In the beginning of the movie, the box of trinkets that Beau chooses the figurine from could symbolize him selecting his faith (As a gift to his mom) and when the cabinet is opened the glass reflects the man who's threatening to jump off the building. Toni says that Beau has been being tested, while her friend Liz randomly appears in the forest part. They both film Beau, which could imply they're "angels with a million eyes" [if a video is worth a million views], where Toni could be an angel either testing Beau to atone or guiding his soul to the afterlife like a psychopomp, while her friend Liz could be Lucifer/Satan, the fallen angel which explains her appearance in the forest. Beau being stabbed by Birthdaysuit Stabby Man in two spots could be how Beau immediately gets his pp and umbilical cord cut, but the "puss-like" wound on his side could also be a brand, seeing how Beaus test could be to admitting he's a coward (which immediately concluded the forest).

The forest could represent the absence of religion or his mom's description of satanism, which embraces freedom of will rather than vindicating it. The excluded and the lost ("Orphaned") put on the play of life creating their own stories, in which doing so Beau finds himself, until the wrath of Grace disturbs the peace. Theres a rehearsal where a man talks about blindly choosing between roads (faith) and if following one backtracks another, and another person who mentions hearing trumpets when its too late (Biblical Apocalypse). Theres a woman singing a song with the lyrics "You can give your life, you can lose your soul, you can bang your head or you can drown in a hole", which could reference Beaus choice between regretfully giving his life to faith or ending things by "drowning in a hole". After hes embraced the forest and "committed entirely" by giving the trinket to Penelope, he's smitten and zapped by electricity like a higher power striking down a heathen who has rejected faith.

In the house section, the town and the company is named after Beaus mom because everything in his existence has been because of and a part of her, the W logo in the poster for the apartment can be seen as a "house" between two legs, Beaus Mom mentions 'Squeezing but getting nothing in return', and Beau encounters the only memory he'd have of seeing his dad. This section could represent something along the lines of either remembrance or control, with how what starts as a funeral dives into repressed memories, or how it seemed Beaus mother tried to oversee and manipulate Beau all his existence. The catering van outside is named after Shiva the destroyer, so maybe this is a representation of Beaus existence flashing before his eyes before death, all of which Beau shared with his mom even while she was working or medicated, and him being reunited with his loved ones in the afterlife. Since we see Elaine die by the family curse and is there when other Beau gets locked away, they could both be representations of who he could've been. The cruise could've been a representation of his mom's body carrying life like a vessel, with everyone on board an egg, which could explain the body in the pool (whos name is Gene, like a gene pool) while also impling that Elaine is actually Beaus fraternal twin seeing how they're the only children on the cruise, Beau just didnt realize they share the same mother (Also remember Elaines choice of words to describe her mother and asks if Beaus is the same). I think there's also something to be said with how Cruise Mona is a hopeful mother while Adult Mona is a scorn mother like her own mother was. There are times where she physically changes which could be showing how Mona "becomes" her own mother. This cycle of becoming your mother could explain why Elaine starts to put on Monas make-up

The final part is where Beau expects to be judged as hes been told he would at the end of his life. His face before he sets sail is stuck in a gasping expression possibly exactly how his rigor mortis has set in, Beau is taken by boat towards his judgment like Charon carried those down the Styx towards the underworld. After his 1800DEFENSE lawyer is 'stoned to death', Beau realizes that he can't call for help and accepts death. IIRC my mom had taught me the lords prayer to include "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done", so if Beau was interpretting religion earlier it might explain how Beau "came" to his end in the final scene. I don't think he ever actually lived, but the anxiety stemmed by his anxiously religious mother made him paranoid about being born a sinner and was too afraid to live and he accidentally caused a complicated delivery that he didn't survive and instead experienced all the fears he thought would happen described by the only person he knew

If Beau didn't survive being born then that could explain why he wasn't screaming in the beginning despite being such an anxious soul. I still find more little details everytime I rewatch with this perspective too, like how his mom's number is listed as Home, or how his apartment entrance (next to the XXX store) is a pair of narrow flesh toned hallways leading straight to Beaus bare-walled room (With something special at the end of the first hallway). The therapist visit in the beginning might actually be the last check up with the baby doctor, who he imagines looks a bit like a doctor sized baby, which explains how he shared information with Beaus mom. During that visit Beau is asked how long its been since he's visited his mom and he says 'Several months', and the doctors office has an abundance of bonsai trees which might symbolize growing life that's been pruned to take a desired form, both mentally by controlling his faith and physically by getting pruned by Dr choppy pp

Edit: 5:16 The name of the show with the header "Tonight at 8PM" pretty much foreshadows this entire theory and can't just be a coincidence 👀

Edit 2: the grandmother's picture looks exactly like an incantation bowl used to prevent Lilith from taking babies during or after birth. Mona also shapeshifts (watch for the color green), just like Lilith can.

[bertkesurf]

That sounds quite a bit like weaponized emotional incest, trying to convince a son that nobody is worthy to "replace" his mother.

[Helperishere]

As someone with severe anxiety, this film made sense. It does genuinely feel like the world is directly against you. The only voice of reason you have gets squashed out by the rest of the negative thoughts like it showed in the court scene. Turning situations that aren't even remotely bad into one's that feel like it was the worst experience you could have had. Always expecting the worst to happen when doing something which in turn becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. It's really rough.
You aren't crazy but you're always terrified and alone and it feels like noone wants to help. You also don't have the tools to help yourself in most situations so it's just constricting.

[miriamhuebner]

Fun fact, for the name of the town - Wasserton - “Wasser” means water in German!

[furrymessiah]

One thing that wasn't addressed in this video, but may somewhat explain the escalating surrealism, is that Beau stops taking any sort of medication after running from Roger's house. While it's clear he has many issues, the insanity of the situation really ratchets up at that point. Anyone that's been in the sad position of trying to help someone schizophrenic who's stopped taking their meds will understand that after Beau wakes up in the forest, he's no longer in reality. The truth probably is, his mother is actually dead which caused Beau to have a mental break, Roger and his family were assigned to look after him, and he wandered into the forest under the influence of his hallucinations only to die of exposure.

Edit: it would also explain a lot of the whys of the earlier portions of the story. I can't speak from experience, but I don't think people with even severe anxiety hallucinate someone kicking their doors in like the Incredible Hulk or an entire neighborhood of people storming an apartment building only to specifically trash just their residence and MURDER SOMEONE IN THEIR DOORWAY.

I haven't seen the film, but from what I gathered from this video, Beau's mental problems are never specifically named. If you start from the basis that he has poorly managed schizophrenia rather than anxiety, the entire plot makes complete sense.

[moxiesaturday]

This movie was the most stressed I've ever been watching anything. And I'm a big horror movie fan. I had to pause it several times to catch my breath. It was so well made. I can relate to him a little too much, extreme anxiety is so difficult to live with. I both love and hate this movie- another one that hits unrelentlessly hard is I'm Thinking of Ending Things. It made me deeply uncomfortable but it was also beautiful

[XtraLargerock]

I think any interpretation that says "this is mostly in Beau's head" missed the mark of what the movie is saying. Yes, it's all crazy and surreal. The movie is also pretty explicit that all of this is REALLY happening, being deeply and intimately orchestrated by Beau's mother. From his perspective, he is unaware of this for most of the film and in shock of all the insanity, but the climax spells out that yes, this is like Hereditary where his strings have been pulled from the very beginning