Beau Is Afraid
By Jeffrey M. Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Brilliant but bizarre, unsettling surreal, mature drama.
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Beau Is Afraid
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What's the Story?
In BEAU IS AFRAID, Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) lives in an urban hellscape and sees a therapist (Stephen McKinley Henderson) for his crippling anxiety. He's given a new prescription for pills that MUST be taken with water. On the way to visit his mother, his keys and luggage are stolen. Then, when he takes a pill and the water isn't working, he must temporarily leave to rush across the street for a bottle of water, and his apartment is invaded. Then he learns that his mother has died, and he must get to her funeral. Unfortunately, Beau is hit by a truck and winds up in the care of kindly surgeon Roger (Nathan Lane) and his wife, Grace (Amy Ryan). Escaping a deranged neighbor, Beau embarks on an odyssey that turns more and more surreal as viewers learn about his fearful secrets.
Is It Any Good?
Nothing in director Ari Aster's previous movies can prepare viewers for what awaits them in this strange, unsettling, surreal, experimental epic with a deep-dive performance by Joaquin Phoenix. Beau Is Afraid begins with a baby being born, from the baby's point of view. Then we meet adult Beau, a wreck of a man who's the perpetual victim of bad luck and bad tempers. His city is filled with angry, shouting, violent people, his apartment building is covered in graffiti, and his elevator shoots electric sparks from below. (Plus, there's a deadly spider loose.) And this is the most normal part of the movie, and the funniest (although the humor is pitch dark). As it goes further and further, the movie explores the roots of Beau's fears, most or all of them stemming from his relationship with his mother. But there's no simple armchair psychology here. Aster does the work and takes the time to go to dark places. Every frame of Beau Is Afraid is intricately designed to contribute to the whole, and it's a brilliant work. The movie's major drawback is that it's not easy to actually recommend to anybody. For many, it will fall somewhere between baffling and unwatchable. It's definitely a challenge.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in Beau Is Afraid. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
How are drugs depicted? Are prescription pills shown to be helpful? Addictive? Numbing? How so?
How has fear affected Beau's life? What has he missed out on? What are some ways to find courage and avoid a life like Beau's?
What does "surreal" mean? How is it different from watching a "realistic" movie?
What's your take on the movie's ending? What do you think Beau's journey ultimately means?
Movie Details
- In theaters: April 14, 2023
- On DVD or streaming: July 11, 2023
- Cast: Joaquin Phoenix , Amy Ryan , Nathan Lane
- Director: Ari Aster
- Inclusion Information: Female actors, Gay actors
- Studio: A24
- Genre: Drama
- Run time: 179 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: strong violent content, sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language
- Last updated: June 3, 2024
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