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Beau is Afraid is the new movie from Ari Aster, of Hereditary and Midsommar. It's three hours long and stars Joaquin Phoenix, along with Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane, and Amy Ryan. It's about a middle-aged man, Beau (Phoenix), who encounters a number of surreal difficulties en route to visiting his mother. It hits wide release today, after opening last weekend in NYC and LA. It's a weird movie! It's been getting very polarized responses from both critics and general audiences. But whether one ends up thinking it's good or bad, it's definitely interesting to peer into the psyche of a very odd person. I think it's interesting enough to merit a separate thread for discussion. The trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuiWDn976Ek is pretty cool, but obfuscates what the movie is really about, which is being terrified of sex and your mom.
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Apr 21, 2023 14:37
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Great mushroom movie. Take your parents.
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Apr 22, 2023 09:53
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It's been two days since I've seen it and I'm still digesting it. I loved it, I'm just trying to unpack everything it throws out there. Also, I'm glad I went in knowing Ari referred to it as a "nightmare comedy" instead of thinking it was a straight horror movie, I haven't seen anything tonally like this film in.... maybe my whole life, honestly. Also I was over the moon when I recognized the UPS driver was played by Bill Hader. Space_Butler fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Apr 22, 2023 |
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Apr 22, 2023 19:17
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IT'S HOOOOOTTTTTT!
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Apr 22, 2023 19:28
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Absolutely love horror and comedy combinations, and also liking Ari Aster, it was hard for it to disappoint. But oh wow, I can see a lot of people absolutely hating this. But gently caress me, what an experience at the cinema. A lot of good laughs.
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Apr 22, 2023 20:48
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That certainly was a movie about hating your mom so much you want to gently caress her. Also as someone with a guilt tripping Jewish mom irl, let me say this is the most Jewish movie ever made. Top to bottom neurosis.
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Apr 22, 2023 21:42
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This movie was hilarious
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Apr 22, 2023 22:42
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Absolutely fantastic first act, loses a LOT of steam with the whole play/Puhoy sequence in the middle. Ending is absolutely fantastic. Shockingly straightforward, all things considered.
mutantIke fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Apr 24, 2023 |
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Apr 24, 2023 00:18
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I can’t believe there are IMAX screenings for this. I agree with the poster above that there is a segment (of which the film is cut into 4) that particularly dragged for me. I’m happy this mad thing exists and it left me in a really dour mood after. In…a good way? In general I’m a pretty big fan of the three hour anxiety attack genre. It reminded me of when I was a kid and would watch 80’s comedies and seeing my family laugh while I just felt bad about the poo poo Steve Martin or Chevy Chase had to put up with.
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Apr 24, 2023 05:53
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The play is undoubtedly the weakest part of the film and should have been reworked into something other that Beau fantasizing about a better life. Or at least cut down significantly. Its basically a ton of build-up for a joke about Beau forgetting he "can't" have sex. Good movie, but definitely Aster's weakest so far and one that's not going to resonate at all with some people. I don't think A24 is going to let him have quite this much creative leash again for a while, but that's okay. He got to make a passion project and we know he works well when he has an editor.
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Apr 24, 2023 09:44
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Loved the movie. Very funny anxiety nightmare. I really disagree about the play sequence being the weakest thing. That sequence is incredible. I loved the surreal transitions and use of animation.
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Apr 24, 2023 13:03
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Yeah, visually the sequence was fantastic. It just felt like too much of a detour in the overarching plot.
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Apr 24, 2023 14:29
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One of the best films I've ever seen. I would have never guessed in million years that Aster would make something that I could compare to Playtime, Brazil, AND The Truman Show, as well as many more obvious reference points. Also, what's the better username: Birthday Boy Stab Man or Death by Anal
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Apr 24, 2023 19:52
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1stGear posted:The play is undoubtedly the weakest part of the film and should have been reworked into something other that Beau fantasizing about a better life. Or at least cut down significantly. Its basically a ton of build-up for a joke about Beau forgetting he "can't" have sex.. That was one of my favourite parts haha. Was completely sucked in when he went through that.
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Apr 24, 2023 23:03
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china bot posted:Also, what's the better username: Birthday Boy Stab Man or Death by Anal Use the entire piece of graffiti, Death by Anal, Murder by gently caress
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Apr 25, 2023 11:28
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I, Butthole posted:Use the entire piece of graffiti, Death by Anal, Murder by gently caress Do Drugs, Kill Children, gently caress the Pope
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Apr 25, 2023 17:35
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Okay, here's a discussion question for people who've seen the movie: What was going on with Jeeves (the supposed army vet staying with Grace and Roger, played by Denis Ménochet)? I mean this both thematically and literally in the story. Some things that are confusing to me: In every scene after Beau's fled the house, when he's chasing Beau, he's shown with shaved beard and head, without any explanation for the change (which when I saw the movie led me to think it was a totally different character). Maybe this is to make him look more "military?" Presumably, Grace is an employee of Mona. And her sending Jeeves after Beau seems to have the effect of driving him towards Wasserton. In a literal sense, are his orders to get him to Mona's house, or to kill him? In the end, he's killed by the giant penis monster. In fact, he's the giant penis monster's only victim. Does this Mean Something? If anyone has any thoughts on these, or any other ideas about What Jeeves Means, I want to hear them lol.
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Apr 26, 2023 00:40
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smug n stuff posted:Okay, here's a discussion question for people who've seen the movie: What was going on with Jeeves (the supposed army vet staying with Grace and Roger, played by Denis Ménochet)? I mean this both thematically and literally in the story. Some things that are confusing to me: Grace is presumbly Mona's Employee. But I don't think her sending Roger is a part of Mona's plan. Mona thought that Beau was lying about why he couldn't come out to see her, and presumbly sent Grace out to smash him with her car and then take him back to her house to test his loyalty to Mona; would he choose a conventional suburbia style family over her? Grace and the Teen both let on to Beau in different ways that this is a test for him, but the Teen girl seems legitamately hosed up by the way her family is and chooses to kill herself to get herself out of the same type of situation Beau is in. Grace sends Roger after him in actual anger when she finds her dead daughter and thinks that Beau had been trying to kill her daughter and replace her son in the family instead of abiding by the test they've set up. Everything after Parker Posey's death is highly suspect to me regarding how much it actually happened. It could be that Beau just snapped and strangled his mom to death and the boat scene is him being unable to escape his guilt and birth circumstances and succumbing to it before dying. Whether his Dad, Bro, or even if the Therapist or Lawyer were ever actually there in person is debatable. Personally I doubt he was born of a giant penis, that he had a brother, or that Roger actually busted in to kill the Penis.
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Apr 26, 2023 02:00
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Not a bad movie but not his best and also Synecdoche, New York is the better anxiety epic with a hapless protagonist who everybody hates.
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Apr 26, 2023 02:33
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It is very hard to say what is "real" in the movie seeing as even in a relatively "normal" scene with the family you still had Beau fast forwarding the security footage to the end of the movie. Also I'm surprised by the dislike in this thread as I really liked the entire play segment.
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Apr 28, 2023 02:43
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played hooky from work to make time for this film because David Sims said it was good Since it was so Joaquin Phoenix focused I was worried it would be like "The Master" which I didn't like. it was not like that Had a good time with the movie but I definitely psyched myself into the appropriate headspace beforehand. Someone in the blankies subreddit said they liked the movie but would never in a million years recommend it to anyone, which feels appropriate. There were less than 20 people in my matinee showing so not a lot of big laugh lines, even though I thought some things were incredibly funny:
I had trouble connecting emotionally to the movie after a certain point because of the protagonist. I don't have a well of Jewish guilt to swim in so I'm not sure what he was feeling or what I'm supposed to feel about it.
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Apr 29, 2023 03:28
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The whole "Jewish guilt" thing gets really recontextualized once you find out that Beau was originally written as black and even played by a black actor at one point. As for being unsure about what Beau's feeling: it's in the title of the film lmao
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Apr 29, 2023 15:26
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mutantIke posted:The whole "Jewish guilt" thing gets really recontextualized once you find out that Beau was originally written as black and even played by a black actor at one point. As for being unsure about what Beau's feeling: it's in the title of the film lmao Do you have some background on the casting or a bit more context on what you mean?
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Apr 29, 2023 18:28
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The screenplay was written when Aster was 19 and he originally wrote Beau as black. A few years later he made a short film (the "you're hosed, pal" sequence in the movie) with Beau portrayed by a black actor who also appeared in his thesis film. Said actor died last year, and Aster has claimed that if he made the film earlier in his life he would have kept him in the lead role. Both the original screenplay and the original short are pretty easily available online
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Apr 29, 2023 18:48
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I saw this movie, it whips rear end. I loved it.mutantIke posted:Absolutely fantastic first act, loses a LOT of steam with the whole play/Puhoy sequence in the middle. Ending is absolutely fantastic. Shockingly straightforward, all things considered. Aww, I really liked that sequence. It did overstay its welcome, sure, but by only like a minute. I was sitting in the theater thinking, this is why I love long movies, because you can just -do- that poo poo
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Apr 29, 2023 19:56
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Saw it again yesterday and the structure and pacing works a lot better for me on rewatch. Absolutely loved the play this time around despite agreeing earlier that it was a real drag. Definitely Aster's best movie
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Apr 29, 2023 20:05
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doesn't matter had sex
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Apr 30, 2023 14:02
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also holy poo poo that ending was one of the best theater experiences ive ever had lmfao
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Apr 30, 2023 14:03
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I saw this last night on a date and I remember beforehand telling my date how excited I was for this because "Ari Aster is going completely unhinged" and boy was I right! My favorite part was the opening sequence. I love how he as a filmmaker works in very real tangible everyday horror along with the fantastical or extreme scary stuff. The bit where the people on the street are filming and encouraging a jumper that smash cuts to the cold corpse on the ground just really grabbed me, especially because i live in a city where people literally die on the sidewalks and everyone else just goes about their daily lives around them. I will admit that he lost me at the climax with the giant angry penis monster dad. I think up until that point he was expertly leading us down a tightrope of intense anxiety and absurd comedy, and that part just pushed me over the side. I lost investment in the character and in knowing more about his backstory. It felt like a rug pull, and I was mostly checked out after that waiting for things to end. It felt like the whole movie was building up towards the reveal of what was in the attic and Beau's reunion with Elaine and both just kind of like, ended really quickly in a super goofy way I did lol at Parker Posey's death scene though, it reminded me a bit of It Follows. But overall I still really liked it because while sitting through that movie you know you are witnessing Art, and I still think he has an incredible ability to convey really intense emotional experiences through film and make you as an audience member viscerally feel it. Midsommer is one of my favorite movies because the scene where Dani takes mushrooms and has a panic attack felt like the panic attacks I've actually had, and similarly here the scene where Beau is forced to smoke the joint reminds me of the times I've gotten too high and became trapped in my own mind wondering if I'm going to die because my body is completely couchlocked and all I can hear is my heartbeat. All three of his movies fit really well together in release order too, starting with pretty much the straight horror of Hereditary, moving into the tension and gore of Midsommer with its moments of absurdist comedy - the theater I saw it in burst out laughing when they are all high on the mushrooms and a random Swede walks by and Will Poulter says "oh god, not a new person" or something like that - and finally here, where it feels like this millenial/gen z nihilistic humor about a world that is so utterly entirely hosed with pain and abuse (and you even get a callback to Midsommer with the defense lawyer getting dashed on a pile of rocks). I have no desire to look up explanations for this movie because I just loved that it felt like a dream and a nightmare the entire time and it doesn't need any deeper meaning imo, but I am enjoying reading other people's interpretations and takes! I'm sure if people just saw his name and went in expecting a Hereditary/Midsommer experience they are going to be pissed, lol
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May 1, 2023 17:58
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bro seemingly made an uncommerical film on purpose to cash in on his goodwill in the a24 mines. felt like more of a neon project tbh. it was alright. weirdly the second film i saw that day at the theatre with a full-chested elevator scene from a better movie homage, although only beau is afraid is actually indebted to its homage on a plot/structure level. claims of its inaccessiblity are overstated, its a pretty funny movie. beau is afraid aint scaring the heaux
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May 1, 2023 21:51
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Does Ari Aster have some trauma involving folks losing their head?
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May 1, 2023 23:08
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Man, I don't think Aster has anything but trauma.
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May 2, 2023 05:06
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I think he's finally gotten it all out, looking forward to his next feature being a cheery romcom
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May 2, 2023 06:15
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matureaudiencesonly posted:My favorite part was the opening sequence. I love how he as a filmmaker works in very real tangible everyday horror along with the fantastical or extreme scary stuff. The bit where the people on the street are filming and encouraging a jumper that smash cuts to the cold corpse on the ground just really grabbed me, especially because i live in a city where people literally die on the sidewalks and everyone else just goes about their daily lives around them. yeah as someone that spent most of my life living in a seriously hosed up city i felt that everything in the early parts of the movie were absolutely awesome and it really helped me gauge the situations the character was in as things progressed the sheer amount of detail overall is impressive, especially regarding the visual metaphors. practically everyone i've talked to irl seemed hung up on their issues with the plot while somehow totally missing stuff like the pervasive MW® completely
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May 2, 2023 11:22
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roffels posted:Does Ari Aster have some trauma involving folks losing their head? She told him not to untie that ribbon but he just wouldn't listen
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May 2, 2023 14:55
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this was the best movie Frank Henenlotter never made
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May 3, 2023 03:09
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i got googling around about the movie and found this interview with Richard Kind of which I like this partRichard Kind posted:"Somebody was hired for my part and was unable to do it," he says. "So they brought me in. My meeting was on a Friday afternoon, and I got the part. So I started memorizing it Friday afternoon and was on set at seven in the morning in Montreal [on Monday]. It is literally, and I'm not kidding, a five-page monologue, which I could do, but it's hard, it's really hard. Now a lot of it is cut in the movie, but when I was doing it, I was 30 feet up on a platform. Patti is there, and it's all green screen, and I'm shouting at a pool with a boat in it, and Joaquin['s character] is in the boat, [but] Joaquin has no lines, so Joaquin ain't showing up for an eye-line. I'm just screaming to nobody. Because I only had two days to memorize it, I didn't have the luxury of reading the script."
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May 3, 2023 06:40
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The more I think about this movie the more I like it. Genuinely looking forward to rewatching it at some point Might be my favorite Aster film
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May 4, 2023 05:46
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atrus50 posted:bro seemingly made an uncommerical film on purpose to cash in on his goodwill in the a24 mines. felt like more of a neon project tbh. it was alright. weirdly the second film i saw that day at the theatre with a full-chested elevator scene from a better movie homage, although only beau is afraid is actually indebted to its homage on a plot/structure level. claims of its inaccessiblity are overstated, its a pretty funny movie. beau is afraid aint scaring the heaux I loved it and totally agree that Ari Aster def cashed in to make the movie he really wanted to lol. He probably knew this was his shot to ask for the biggest A24 budget yet and make his dream film and I applaud that, he really went nuts. I have no loving idea how he tops this or moves onward from his movie but I'm excited to see what happens next. I also thought the "inaccessible" claims are overstated provided Aster really does not use subtext that much, everything in this film is spelled out so plainly from the incredible play sequence to the brown recluse gag literally putting the "WARNING: SPIDER" sign behind the guy who died so you know exactly what killed him lol . I thought that forest part was great due to Beau imagining himself to be a grand hero destined for more, only to snap out of the fantasy of this predestined story when he remembers he was told he can't gently caress lol. Just an amazingly crushing way to stamp out the sweeping cliche of how everything is leading to greatness but his inability to make decisions hosed him. Of course, this is even funnier when his mother re-enters the film. Story couldn't be more obvious about how it's the Hero's Journey turned inside out and hosed up. I did get major Kafka vibes from the entire plotline with his mother, especially at the end---seemed like it was ripped right from "The Judgement" with how the film concludes. If you replace Kafka's anxiety about his father with a mother figure then this would have fit even more snugly. One of the funniest theater experiences I've ever had.
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May 5, 2023 15:07
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DLC Inc posted:I also thought the "inaccessible" claims are overstated provided Aster really does not use subtext that much, everything in this film is spelled out so plainly from the incredible play sequence to the brown recluse gag literally putting the "WARNING: SPIDER" sign behind the guy who died so you know exactly what killed him lol . I thought that forest part was great due to Beau imagining himself to be a grand hero destined for more, only to snap out of the fantasy of this predestined story when he remembers he was told he can't gently caress lol. Just an amazingly crushing way to stamp out the sweeping cliche of how everything is leading to greatness but his inability to make decisions hosed him. Of course, this is even funnier when his mother re-enters the film. Story couldn't be more obvious about how it's the Hero's Journey turned inside out and hosed up. Yeah, I think all of this is only improved by all the Christ symbolism that gets attached to Beau. He's a Jewish guy who never met his biodad (and is hinted to be a virgin birth for a lot of the film's runtime), picks up a really vaginal stab wound in his side, is told he can't gently caress but eventually gets with his Mary Magdelene and is eventually gives himself up for an unjust execution. The whole thing's a subversion of the Christ narrative on top of everything else.
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May 5, 2023 15:28
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