Review of Beau Is Afraid (2023) by Rmckay — 17 Jun 2023

So, first off, I just want to say how much I would love to give this film a higher score just because of the sheer fun I had watching it. Fun factor is surely a 10. But to grade it just by fun-factor would be irresponsible as a amateur critic, haha.

It was surely a mess, albeit a controlled one. I've seen these controlled messes before and sometimes they work (Synechdoche NY by Kaufman) and sometimes they just fall flat on their faces (Cloud Atlas by Wachowskis).

You gotta admire the depth Aster goes into on this big fat metaphors and slices of life condensed. Lot's of great Oedipal metaphors, mixed with 'seize the day' moods. I just had a blast deconstructing it.

But at the end of the day it doesn't tie up nicely with a bow (or Beau, if you will, haha) like something like Kaufman would make. And also at the end of the day, we have to remember that we're dealing with a horror director here.

So it's not quite as "heady" as it looks. But we've got some fabulous editing, great mixed media, a different kind of Phoenix shows up for this one, more subdued and quirky than ever, with a supporting cast that does just that, and does it well.

Like I said, I would love to give this film a 9. And were it directed or re-written by someone like Charlie Kaufman, maybe it'd get there? But this was also a cluster of metaphors for cluster's sake and got a little messy.

Definitely watch it! But I don't think you'll be jumping up to tell your friends afterward. You will have a good time though with this surrealist mind bender. One word to describe, 'fun'. Not mindblowing though.

Which is what I was hoping for.