Beau is Afraid

Beau is Afraid
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane
Directed by Ari Aster

Joseph Campbell was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who came up with the concept of monomyth, the theory that sees all mythic narratives as variations of a single great story. Better known as the "hero's journey," his 1949 novel introduced the concept that shaped narratives going forward - from Luke Skywalker to Katniss Everdeen to Iron Man - that served as a blueprint for a hero's ultimate journey, from the reluctant beginnings to victorious end. Yet what happens when a hero's journey isn't as heroic as it should be? What happens if the "hero" isn't a hero at all, but someone lost inside their own mind of depression, anxiety, and repression? Would the journey be the same, or would it be a nightmarish duality of the more accepted journey? Ari Aster tackles that thought in "Beau is Afraid," and it turns into a three-hour nightmare dive into the mind of an unhinged person that is forced on his own hero's journey - and fails every step along the way.

Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) is a man in his late forties but has the mindset of a young child, especially when it comes to pleasing his mother Mona (Patti LuPone). He lives on his own at a dingy apartment complex riddled with graffiti who's streets are flooded with violence, bloodshed, and death. He plans to visit his mother, but a string of unfortunate events cause him to cancel, disappointing her to no end. Already distraught, he then receives news about his mother that sends him into an emotional tailspin with an urgency to get home that never existed before. Yet before that happens he's hit by a car and ends up knocked out for a few days.

He wakes up in the home of surgeon Roger (Nathan Lane) and his wife Grace (Amy Ryan) - who hit him with her car - and finds that two days have passed since he was hit. He desperately wants to get home, but his injuries don't permit him to travel - or at least that's what Roger says. When Beau comes into conflict with their daughter Toni (Kylie Rogers), he makes a daring escape into the wilderness where he comes across a traveling drama commune that puts on a play before he continues on his journey home to a shocking revelation that threatens to unravel his already unraveled psyche.

The Good:
Ari Aster is a man who seemingly has multiple issues going on in his life if you take his films into account. "Hereditary" - more than a cult supernatural film - is about the unraveling of the family unit in the most destructive fashion. "Midsommar" - more than a human sacrificing cult - is about the unraveling of a relationship in the most destructive fashion. Now, with "Beau is Afraid," Aster shows the severe unraveling of the most sacred relationship: that between a mother and her child. While many families had healthy boundaries and childhood memories, the history of Beau and Mona is nothing short of emotional abuse. Mona holds Beau as her crowning achievement, and refuses to let him be himself, leading him to suffer for it into his adult years as he struggles to make even the simplest of decisions out of fear of disappointing his mother.

"Beau is Afraid" can't be logically defined by any genre, because it's a blend of everything. It's got some great action set pieces while telling a darkly dramatic story about a man's mental unraveling, while providing some truly horrific moments underlined by darkly comedic overtones. Much like 2022's stellar "Everything Everywhere All at Once," "Beau is Afraid" is akin to such a film, although it's "EEAO"'s evil twin - whereas you leave "EEAO" with a feeling of exuberance and appreciation for family, you'll leave "Beau is Afraid" with a feeling of mental exhaustion and an appreciation that your relationship with your mother is nowhere near as tumultuous as Beau's is with his mother (and if it is, I pray for you). This is proof of excellent storytelling on Aster's end, and impeccable performances throughout.

Joaquin Phoenix is an inspired choice to play Beau, as he's well-versed in playing unhinged characters (and even winning an Oscar for his unique portrayal of the Joker). His performance as Beau is downright unnerving, and not just from his stinted dialogue as a man who's consistently afraid he's going to let down his mother or anyone else around him. He's a man in his forties, but carries himself as an unsure child - dressed in clothes too big for him, experiencing the world through doe-eyed innocence yet fear, and who's entire body language screams "I need help but I'm too afraid to ask!" His life is an unreliable narrator, as he experiences the world with an apprehension that's beyond comprehension, as he leaves his apartment he finds people getting stabbed on the street, a crowd cheering for a man to jump from a roof, and a naked man called "Birthday Boy Stab Man" waiting to stab him to death once he leaves. This can't be the reality he lives in, yet Aster portrays it as something normal in the day of the life of Beau, and we can't help but feel bad for him.

Patti LuPone gives a chilling performance as Beau's overbearing mother Mona, who talks to him through the phone with an iciness that would make hell turn cold. She exudes emotional abuse as Beau is asking her what to do because he can't visit her because he's afraid someone will break into his apartment after his keys got stolen, and she responds with steely resolve: "I know you'll do the right thing." It's a completely unhinged performance, and LuPone pulls it off with excellence, much like Zoe Lister-Jones does as a younger Mona in a flashback sequence, especially her monologue as to what happened to Beau's father when he was a child illuminated by the flashing colorful lights of a dancing night light.

Amy Ryan and Nathan Lane also shine as Grace and Roger, the friendly married couple who take Beau in after they hit him with their car. Their home is illuminated in light, it's always sunny, and they both carry themselves with a lighthearted spirit that is supposed to give you a sense of calm - before you realize that their son was killed in war, and they might be transferring their parental need to Beau. So even in the lighthearted moments, there's not a moment of peace, especially when the human hurricane known as their daughter Toni comes into the picture, and actress Kylie Rogers gives a tour-de-force performance that will leave you chilled to the bone.

When Beau comes across the traveling commune, he witnesses a play that's put on that he himself becomes a part of, which serves as a sort of "heroception" - a hero's journey within a hero's journey. However, this hero's journey that Beau experiences is the correct one, even if it occurs on a different plane of existence. This portion of the film was directed by Cristobal Leon and Joaquin Cocina, who directed the critically acclaimed animated film "The Wolf House," and who's inspiration can be seen clearly here. "Beau" traverses this different world illuminated by paper mache set pieces that give an ethereal unreal visual that comes into conflict with the film's overarching visuals like a stunning slap to the face - but one that's welcomed, because it was done so well.

As I said earlier, "Beau is Afraid" is the antithesis of the hero's journey, as Beau embarks on a journey in a way that no other character has done before. The first part of the hero's journey is the departure, and to that end Beau fails as he misses his actual departure, forcing him to find a different way home that leads him through a myriad of trials that wouldn't have existed if he had taken the original path. Even his initiation and return (the second and third aspects of the hero's journey) is muddied by his own intellectual errors, culminating in more dark moments than what should've been if he had done it all properly.


The Bad:
At three hours long, this has to be a film seen with the right mindset. You have to go into it prepared for a mentally exhausting three hours that will stick with you long after it ends, leaving you with more questions than answers, as you ponder the existence of the film as a whole. If you go into it without the proper mindset, you'll either be bored out of your mind or too mentally distraught to really comprehend the story.

The Verdict:
Once again providing a polarizing film about the destructive nature of human society, Ari Aster's "Beau is Afraid" is an epic tale of anxiety, inner turmoil, and unresolved mommy issues that pack powerful emotional gut punches numerous times throughout its runtime, leaving the audience lost in a sea of their own emotional turmoil.

The Score: A+