Up next we have the latest entry from Ari Aster—whose Hereditary I enjoyed for the most part, and whose Midsommar is definitely regarded as a modern classic by many. But here’s something different than his prior horror pieces, with a poster that suggested to many he was in fact making Joaquin Phoenix: The Movie.
And indeed, we have Phoenix here playing a troubled man living in a rather dismal urban environment…yet again. Here, our titular Beau is an anxiety-suffering person living in an exaggerated version of a decaying city where naked slashers run around on the street and where, above all, he has a rather troubled relationship with his mother (Patti LuPone). Right away, we establish that this is very much into the black comedy side of things—everything that can go wrong for poor Beau indeed does, but it’s over the top enough that at least earlier on, you might just get a chuckle out of his misfortune. Of course, if that’s not your thing…then this really, really isn’t a movie for you.
In any case, after his mother seems to suffer an accident right on top of all the things he’s gone through, Beau begins a trek to make it to her funeral, with everything that can go wrong, going wrong. A seemingly friendly family taking him in after an accident turns out to have a few skeletons in the closet, drug trips go wrong, and everything else in between. For the first two-thirds, it’s done reasonably well for this kind of flick—Aster’s style is very much evident, including the pans through building structures, and, of course, the inevitable shifts in format.
The film sort of peaks two-thirds in, with Beau visiting a stage play that triggers an extended sequence that combines animation and stylized live-action—which I actually quite liked, and gave us a reprieve from all the prior madness. If nothing else it shows that Aster does have versatility in him, and I certainly would like to seem continue to experiment like that in the future.
By the last third, however, things get a bit stretched—it’s yet another three-hour long film, and eventually, the premise gets worn out over that sort of length. Going into mild spoilers here—while we do get more of the black comedy that’s been done relatively well so far, a considerable amount of that last third is Beau basically getting berated despite all the hell he’s put himself through. There’s one memorable and incredibly deranged moment to break things up, but it feels like Aster is working out some personal things here that, to be honest, I think he could’ve condensed.
And don’t expect the best payoff either. Again, with some spoilers—I took the very last scene to be a confirmation that what we’re seeing is more a reflection of Beau’s tormented subconscious than anything in ‘reality’, what with logic being abandoned and surreal weirdness bumped up as that last act goes on. But…well, even if I wasn’t expecting a happy and rosy ending, I would’ve preferred more than what we got.
While it has some enjoyment factor for those on its tonal wavelength, Beau is Afraid does somewhat run out of steam for me before it’s over—it certainly doesn’t beat Midsommar for me, and as far as Phoenix goes, it’s not close to The Master. Still, perhaps a more selective home viewing watch is worth it—by no means is there nothing of value here, but you’d be forgiven for pacing it on your own terms.
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