‘Beau Is Afraid’ Is Big, Bloated and Brimming with Wonder

Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid” demonstrates for three hours that, while Joaquin Phoenix’s title character is extremely fearful (among many other things), Aster himself is afraid of nothing.

Rather than up the ante and present a third horror film that outdoes his prior works in scare value, Aster has used a generous budget to shape a very dark comedy about a character who suffers dearly for nearly the entire running time.

I haven’t seen a movie character endure this kind of scene-by-scene mental and physical anguish since Larry Gopnik in the Coen brother’s “A Serious Man” (2009).

This is exactly the kind of movie you get to make after tidal waves of acclaim and an eagerly attentive cult audience await your next move. Teaming up with the unpredictable and often extraordinary...

Proper Review
May 2nd 2023
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