Beau Is Afraid

Beau Is Afraid ★★★

Your father completed inside of me.”

Ari Aster’s boldest, most original, most grandiose, yet worst film thus far. The A24 arthouse version of 40 Year Old Virgin: What No Pussy Does to a Mf meets Her’s spiritual sequel: Him. Phoenix is good as usual—giving off a strong Ignatius J. Reilly vibe à la A Confederacy of Dunces—but I just feel like Aster got a little too much liberty with the budget and scope of the film, that I was already gradually losing interest by the time he gets to Holly Flax’s house. I would have much rather had the entire film stick to the absurdity and funny world building of the opening act in his corner apartment. I don’t know when this trend started, and I’m not sure what to call it (working title: Adult Swim adjacent), but I’m not all for these live action variants of Rick & Morty/Bojack Horseman/Tim & Eric as seen through this and heavily within Everything Everywhere All at Once. Someone like Quentin Dupieux might be able to work in that tighter realm more fittingly, and I’m actually surprised he hasn’t been given a A24 summons yet. 

PS: We already knew he had family issues, but I guess now we know Ari specifically has mommy issues. 

2023 RANKED

A24 RANKED

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