‘Beau Is Afraid’ is bad acid trip from the director of ‘Hereditary’ and ‘Midsommar’; g1 already seen

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With Joaquin Phoenix, Ari Aster departs from the horror genre he’s known for in this disturbing three-hour psychological fantasy. The film opens in Brazil this Thursday (20). “Beau is afraid”, new film by director Ari Aster (“Hereditary”), is not easy. More disturbing psychological fantasy than horror, the genre for which the filmmaker became known, the story starring Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”) is a long bad trip (“bad trip”, if you prefer) of acid. This does not mean that the production is bad. By occupying almost entirely – albeit at an irregular pace – its three hours of duration, the film that opens this Thursday (20) in Brazilian cinemas has everything to be one of those that divide the public between love and hate. Not much room for compromises. Watch the trailer for ‘Beau is afraid’ The fantastic world of Beau An expansion of the story and themes explored by the filmmaker in the short film “Beau” (2011), “Beau is afraid” follows the fantastic journey of a fragile, anxious and (perhaps ) kind (too) to the house of his controlling mother, who died suddenly. On the way, he is run over, kidnapped, sheltered by a suspicious suburban family, forced to take drugs, stalked, stabbed, joins a theater troupe in the woods, and raves. So much so that it’s difficult to establish what is true in all of this and what is the protagonist’s worldview. Like in the beginning, where the very likely agoraphobic Beau (Phoenix) sees a dystopian society on the other side of his door, with corpses abandoned on the asphalt, random gunshots and burning cars. Over time, something that the film has in abundance, the despair generated by the blatant exaggerations and constant humiliation of the character can be perceived as a non-sense humor, even though it is never very clear that its existence is intentional. Nathan Lane, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Ryan in a scene from ‘Beau is afraid’ Publicity The trip The always magnetic (and known for interpretations on the line between sanity and madness) Phoenix gives credibility – with a suffered performance and marked by certain excesses – to the script from Aster, at least long enough for her taunts to take effect. Too bad he’s the only constant part of the excellent cast. The excellent Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane (both from “Only Murders in the Building”), Parker Posey (from the remake of “Lost in Space”) and Patti LuPone (a Broadway legend) appear just enough for audiences to moan. your absence. The beauty offered by the change of scenery – the urban chaos, the macabre suburb, the gloomy forest, the luxurious house – combined with the power of Beau’s delusions, which at a certain moment take the form of beautiful illustrations, also facilitates the viewer’s life before of a rhythm that suffers in several moments. The discussion about film lengths may be tired, but it is a fact that three hours demand a lot from the public and from the work, which must unfold to remain attractive for so long. Sometimes, a well-used breath is a storyteller’s greatest weapon. With so much agony and distress, especially in its first hour, “Beau is afraid” certainly makes those who are watching embrace their first moments of peace. The problem is that everything lasts a few minutes longer than it should. Chaos is very chaotic. The rest, somewhat tedious. Halfway through, the journey feels like a bad acid trip. The paths are unexpected, but not always the most welcome. “Beau is afraid” is certainly the most interesting of the films by an exciting director, who still has “Midsommar: Evil does not wait for the night” (2018) on his resume. It’s just hard to say which one is the best.

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