Review: Ari Aster's 'Beau Is Afraid' Warrants Love-Hate Reception

Filmmaker Ari Aster returns with his third film, following the highly acclaimed Hereditary and the equally well-received Midsommar. These two films established the filmmaker as one of the most original voices currently working in Hollywood, although he is far from being a commercial director. The target audience for his stories is a niche audience that enjoys out-of-this-world narratives, experiences that utterly baffle even the most attentive viewers, and in many cases require multiple viewings to understand everything the author wants. convey. That said, Beau a Fear quickly became the most controversial film of the year…

We all recognize the impact that the hype surrounding a film has on the expectations of those who watch it. Viewers are influenced, in one form or another, to compulsively love or hate a new film that, without the huge anticipation and buzz previously generated, would not elicit such an extreme reaction. Usually, this type of situation occurs more often with popular franchises and sagas, but Beau afraid has garnered the same level of anticipation due to Aster's impressive growth in the industry and viewers who love it. Everyone was already expecting a controversial welcome months before.

Some places Beau Afraid as one of the best movies they've ever seen, others called it a "career killer". Both seem exaggerated on first reading, but this last claim is almost more absurd than the film itself - the difference is that the film is deliberately surreal. The sheer fact that many react online as soon as the movie is finished when this one in particular undoubtedly requires time to let the thoughts flow, goes a long way to show what film criticism has become. These days it's more important to be the first tweet than to offer an honest reaction closer to what they really think. Preface finished, let's continue.

Hereditary is one of my favorite horror films of the past decade, and I really enjoy Midsommar, despite not only a few notches below the first. That said, I have a habit of badly handling surreal stories, so my expectations were moderately controlled, knowing in advance that I would likely leave the theater without absolute certainty about many things. Without wanting to sound arrogant and also admitting up front that there are parts of the film that I need to review or study in-depth essays, Beau afraid is not not that "hard to get."

Understandably, Beau a Fear is an extremely complex film, filled with minute details and deep character arcs. However, it's not one of those movies that makes viewers leave their theaters not understanding everything they've seen. Guilt, extreme anxiety and a complicated mother-son relationship are the main themes that Aster brings out through her very unique and unconventional storytelling. There are plenty of jaw-dropping movies that leave the most avid moviegoers scratching their heads, but I don't consider this one to be one of them.

Beau a Fear can be divided into five sections. In each, all of Beau's (Joaquin Phoenix) intricacies are revealed to the audience. His constant anxiety takes over at the start of the film, putting viewers in the mind of someone who imagines the worst-case scenario in every situation he faces. Throughout the film, the technical genius of the various departments of the film crew is nothing short of remarkable and, at times, downright impressive. The level of detail in all areas of the big screen is worthy of immense respect and, above all, admiration.

If the first "chapter" is easy to follow, the second is the heaviest chapter. Not that it's hard to fathom - a couple are responsible for Beau until he's ready to continue his journey to meet his mother - but Aster spends a significant chunk of the runtime on this section of the storyline. Here, the feeling of guilt is deepened beyond its limits, taking many seemingly unnecessary minutes to repeat clear messages over increasingly ridiculous sequences. I looked at my watch at one point, thinking the movie would be approaching the two hour mark...and it hadn't even gotten halfway there.

Fortunately, the third section comes at the right time, giving me reasons...