BEAU IS AFRAID (2023)

Did you want to watch BEAU IS AFRAID because you liked writer/director Ari Aster's previous movies? Well, I warn you that this is different from HEREDITARY and MIDSOMMAR. It actually has more in common with MOTHER! in terms of tone and scope. Some of the ideas it presents are deep, others are unsubtle yet imaginative, others are obvious and uninteresting, and others are so childish that they made my eyes roll. Without getting into spoilers, Ari's idea was to have a climax that tricks the audience into thinking everything is over and then pulls the rug from under us with the shocking epilogue, but the narrative structure wasn't properly constructed. It feels like two climaxes in a row. The story is mainly about the dynamic between a man (the title character) and his over-protective and guilt-tripping mother. It's very clichéd. Besides, the movie works better when it gets away from that and focuses on who Beau has become as a result of his upbringing. You see, the combination of all the fears he has isn't healthy, but individually, they're relatable. The scenes where Beau displays this kind of paranoia and bad things keep accumulating (from not being able to find his keys to walking on a street full of criminals) generate anxiety, especially because the viewer knows that he's in a hurry (first, because he has a flight to catch, and later, because he has to go to a certain event that can't start without him). I praise the events rather than the characterization, because Beau was mainly written as an observant of the weird stuff. I'm pretty sure most of his lines are "What?!" The flashbacks provide context, but even then, it's mostly him reacting. He doesn't have that much a personality when you think about it. It would've been easy for any actor to give a bad performance for not having that much to work with, which is why I was impressed with how Joaquin Phoenix carries the movie.

7/10