Beau Is Afraid (2023)
74%RT Audience Score: 71%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Beau Is Afraid is a cinematic masterpiece that delves into the depths of human psyche and the complexities of familial relationships. Aster’s direction is audacious and indulgent, taking the audience on a three-hour journey of bad vibes and ritual humiliation that is both traumatic and hilarious. Joaquin Phoenix delivers a captivating performance, although at times he seems like a passenger in his own existence. The film’s originality and confrontational tenor should be applauded, even if its cartoonishly Freudian horror and meagre cod-psychology fall short. Overall, Beau Is Afraid is a vibrant, compassionate, and alienating drama that will leave you with the absolute fear and raise questions rarely asked out loud.
Beau Is Afraid is a wild ride that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about horror movies. With its audacious and indulgent approach, this film takes the trauma and turns it into a comedy of bad vibes and ritual humiliation. While some may find it a chore, others will appreciate its originality and confrontational tenor. Joaquin Phoenix delivers some exciting moments, but ultimately, the film is a hero’s journey that raises questions we rarely ask out loud. So buckle up and get ready for a journey into the uncanny and uncomfortable world of Beau Is Afraid.
Production Company(ies)
Psychological, Road Trip / Journey
Distributor
A24
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited), Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
SHOOT LOCATION(S):
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2023
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:2h 59m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:NA
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama/Horror
Keyword(s)
starring Joaquin Phoenix, Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Parker Posey, Patti LuPone, Stephen Henderson, directed by Ari Aster, written by Ari Aster, comedy, drama, horror, R rating, A24, Square Peg, Lars Knudsen, $8.1M box office, reviewed by Clarisse Loughrey, Danny Leigh, Linda Marric, Christy Lemire, Ryan Gilbey, Adam Kempenaar, Eddie Harrison, Luis Bond, Paul Whitington, Margot Harrison, Eileen Jones, Andrew Gaudion, paranoid man, epic odyssey, mother, graphic nudity, drug use, language, sexual content, strong violent content, Dolby Digital, flat aspect ratio, 2h 59m runtime.
Worldwide gross: $10,080,683
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: $8,239,982
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): REPORTED BUDGET:
$50,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Nathan Lane – Roger
Amy Ryan – Grace
Parker Posey – Elaine
Patti LuPone – Self
Stephen Henderson – Self
Director: Ari Aster
Producers: Lars Knudsen, Ari Aster
Writer: Ari Aster
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)
Director(s)
NA
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (216) | Top Critics (58) | Fresh (149) | Rotten (67)
Aster’s film takes the so-traumatic-it’s-funny sequences of his previous work and spins them into a three-hour comedy of bad vibes and ritual humiliation. It’s as memorable, audacious, and indulgent as you’d hope from A24’s most expensive film to date.
May 18, 2023 | Rating: 4/5
Clarisse Loughrey
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The movie is a chore, a grinding, faux-experimental folly from a company in the grip of a splattery midlife crisis. Would it not have been simpler just to get tattoos?
May 18, 2023 | Rating: 2/5
Danny Leigh
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
This film is probably not what Aster’s fans were expecting after a hiatus of almost four years, but I think it’s a wonderful take on Oedipal misery and the misery of drug abuse.
May 18, 2023 | Rating: 5/5
Linda Marric
The Jewish Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
I appreciate it for its craft, and that Joaquin Phoenix has some moments here that are exciting — but he’s a passenger in his own existence, and that’s really boring.
May 17, 2023
Christy Lemire
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
When everything is outlandish, nothing is. Beau Is Afraid should certainly be applauded for its originality and its confrontational tenor, but not its cartoonishly Freudian horror or the script’s meagre cod-psychology.
May 16, 2023
Ryan Gilbey
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
…is effective in putting you in this very intense nightmare/fantasy headspace where there are almost no interactions or exchanges that are imbued with compassion, or even moments of grace; everything is a full-on assault or the brief prelude to one.
May 9, 2023 | Rating: 2.5/5
Adam Kempenaar
Filmspotting
TOP CRITIC
…a vibrant, compassionate, alienating drama aimed specifically at giving you the absolute fear…
May 18, 2023 | Rating: 5/5
Eddie Harrison
film-authority.com
It confronts us with the society in which we live, our bonds with mom and dad, sexuality, guilt, defenselessness, and much more. It is a failed heroic journey that raises questions that we rarely ask out loud [Full Review in Spanish]
May 18, 2023 | Rating: 5/5
Luis Bond
Diario las Américas
The film ends in chaos, as the screenplay succumbs to its worst excesses.
May 17, 2023 | Rating: 2/5
Paul Whitington
Irish Independent
Some viewers may leave feeling as if they’ve watched three pointless hours of someone’s Freudian persecution fantasy. For others, though, the film will resonate as a powerful reminder that we are the ultimate origins of our guilt-ridden nightmares.
May 17, 2023 | Rating: 4.5/5
Margot Harrison
Seven Days (VT)
Watching Beau Is Afraid feels more like having the filmmaker himself sitting next to you, endlessly nudging you to make note of the thirty-seven tiresome production design curlicues he’s inserted into every single scene.
May 17, 2023
Eileen Jones
The Jacobin
Beau Is Afraid is another example of Aster’s ability to place you in an uncanny and occasionally uncomfortable environment, only to come out of the other side with the sense that you are the richer for it.
May 17, 2023 | Rating: 4/5
Andrew Gaudion
THN…
Plot
A paranoid man goes on a twisted and depraved journey to get back to his mother in the dark comedy/drama/horror film, Beau Is Afraid, directed by Ari Aster and starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role.
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