Beau is Afraid
2023
***
Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Parker Posey, Richard Kind, Michael Gandolfini, Kylie Rogers, Zebedee Row
Beau Wassermann, an anxious and paranoid middle-aged man, sets out to visit his mother, who has apparently died at home. In his third feature, Ari Aster takes the audience on a surreal and bizarre journey through Beau's subconscious, which is rid with guilt, fears, and deep-seated mother issues. As Beau discovers troubling secrets about himself and his family, it is unclear if any of the events are actually happening for real or if the whole trip is playing out in his head. This skillfully constructed and darkly comic 3-hour drama starts and ends well, but the meandering two hours in the middle are frankly boring. Nevertheless, Joaquin Phoenix gives another dedicated lead performance.
