MARKED MOVIES

Director: Ari Aster.

Screenplay: Ari Aster.

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane, Denis Ménochet, Kylie Rogers, Parker Posey, Zoe Lister-Jones, Armen Nahapetian, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Hayley Squires, Richard Kind, Julia Antonelli, Archie Madekwe, Julian Richings, Lily Bird, Michael Gandolfini, David Mamet, Bill Hader.

“You were so selfish in your own search that no-one could find you”

By now many will seen Ari Aster’s haunting directorial debut Hereditary (2018) and the unsettling flow-up Midsommar (2019) which highlighted him as a director to watch. If you haven’t, then you’re missing out on two of the best horror movies in recent years. For those that are familiar, you’ll notice that Aster has the recurring themes of grief and the impact that parents can have on our lives. In Beau is Afraid, Aster, once again focuses on these earlier concepts and in many ways extends upon them with an outrageously metaphysical odyssey that transcends the bravery and boldness of his previous outings.

Plot: Beau Wasserman (Joaquin Phoenix) is a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden wreck of a person who’s simply not having a very enjoyable existence. His anxiety has taken complete control of his life and coupled with sexual frustration and a domineering mother, Beau inadvertently embarks on a journey of nightmarish proportions.

The film literally begins from the perspective of Beau as he exists the birth canal and we hear his mother’s anguished pleas for his well-being and her accusations that the medical staff have dropped her baby. After some resuscitation and a gentle smack on the tookus, we cut to a balding, middle-aged Beau conversing with his therapist about his anxieties and obvious mother issues before he’s sent on his way with a prescription for a “cool new drug” called Zypnotycril.

As Beau meanders home through his very chaotic, almost apocalyptic, neighbourhood we witness teenagers chambering rifles in the street while others encourage a suicidal man to jump to his death from a building just so they can capture it on their mobile phones. Violence, prostitution, Cuban dancers and rotten corpses litter the streets as Beau approaches his apartment above a porn store aptly titled “Erectus Ejectus” where the walls are adorned with cryptic messages of “Death by Anal” or “Murder by Fuck”. These messages are so subtle that they’re blink and you’ll miss them which makes this film much more rewarding on repeat viewings as they add to the subconscious of our titular character. Added to this are news reports of a “Birthday Boy Stab Man” who roams the streets naked attacking his victims. It’s a very bizarre and dysfunctional environment that Beau finds himself embroiled in and it just gets worse. He awakens one night to random notes being slipped under his door asking him to turn his music down when no music is being played before he’s faced with even further devastating personal news and an incident that leaves him injured and, once again, at the mercy of others.

The opening 40mins of this film are some of the most inventive and surrealistically nightmarish moments you’ll experience in any film from 2023. And surprisingly hilarious as well. So much so, that we’re led to seriously question whether any of this is actually real or are we experiencing the inner turmoil and anxious thought processes that plague Beau with the added suggestion that his new medication isn’t exactly helping matters. But this is barely scratching the surface of the film. In fact, it’s only the beginning. Beau’s malaise sees him journey through a series of episodic chapters that include a self-medicated suburban family with psychological issues of their own and a travelling theatre company known as the Orphans of the Forest who like to “blur the lines between the audience and the players” and sees Beau journey through an exquisitely colourful animated sequence designed by Chilean filmmakers Cristobal Leon and Joaquin Cosiña. Just when things look like they might make sense, the denouement throws in further outlandish twists of a sexual encounter that freezes in time or a giant, phallic cock-monster that resides in an attic. Two sequences that need to be seen to be believed.

When looking at the influences on Ari Aster and his epic vision of Beau’s mental state, it’s difficult not to see the work of David Lynch or Charlie Kaufman permeate every inch of his psyche. These filmmakers happen to be two that I admire greatly so it’s no surprise that I responded very favourably to this film. Is it for everyone? Abso-fucking-lutely not. However, if you appreciate challenging and metaphorical storytelling then this sprawling tapestry of existentialism and sexual repression should tick a number of boxes in that regard. Ultimately, this is a work of abstract art that heavily explores the psychological themes of mental health and Freudian inadequacy and can also be viewed as a study of paranoid psychosis mixed with guilt and codependency. The title of the film itself is absolute; Beau is indeed afraid. Very afraid, as he lives in a permanently heightened reality and a constant state of anxiety where everything and everyone is a threat and this manifests in two ways; either what we witness is from Beau’s skewed perception or he’s being manipulated. In many incidences it’s potentially both. The challenge lies in compartmentalising the visual representations on screen with Beau’s fractured psyche which can be challenging and easier said than done and therein lies the beauty and interaction with the film. There’s enough ambiguity on display that each individual viewer will bring their own interpretation to the table. One thing’s for sure, Beau’s grief, guilt and complex issues are byproducts of his environment which are directly influenced by Oedipal overtones.

On a technical level it’s a remarkably well made picture. It must be noted how good the production design is and the striking imagery that cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski captures adds to an overall visually stunning experience with an abundance of colour contrasting with the darker themes while all of this is anchored by a tremendous central performance by Joaquin Phoenix. No amount of superlatives can describe his understanding of what’s required for the character; his anguish and tumultuous mental health are palpable but he’s still more than able to capture the humour that Aster has intended and it’s a genuine surprise that he’s not being spoken more of in terms of awards.

Verdict: A singular and hugely ambitious undertaking from Ari Aster which will no doubt alienate some of his fans expecting a flat out horror like his previous films. This is most certainly a different beast altogether and there’s no denying Aster’s chutzpah in delivering something entirely unique and challenging.

Mark Walker

Trivia: Joaquin Phoenix had sharpened pins installed in his bandaged hand to poke him painfully if he used it. To also simulate the torso injuries he had paper binding clips clamped to his stomach to help facilitate a realistic limp.

This entry was posted on December 22, 2023 at 11:37 am and is filed under Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror with tags 2023. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.