One thing that Academy Award Winner Joaquin Phoenix and director Ari Aster have in common is that the aren’t afraid of the offbeat. Both of their talents have delved into strange and unusual forms of storytelling, and their work on Beau Is Afraid looks to have tied them together for one such journey. Prepare for the unexpected, as this 2023 new movie release looks to be a violent, yet wryly funny, cartoon multiverse.
This first look at the latest from A24 is a bit of a shock, as this is a movie coming from the same director that gave us Hereditary and Midsommar. Instead of holy dread and brimstone being the terror in trade, Beau Is Afraid looks to be digging into something more subtly horrific: family relations, and our innermost feelings.
And how better to start it all than with a car accident, which prevents Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) from making a big visit to his mother. Thankfully it’s nothing as fatal as the event that helped kick off the winding road to Hereditary’s wild ending, but it’s enough to sideline Beau with some helpful folks. While these good samaritans by the likes of Nathan Lane and Amy Ryan, that casting could break either way as both actors are proficient in comedy and drama.
Cue the introspective journey with animated flourishes, bright and colorful settings, and a wide variety of set designs. Beau Is Afraid isn’t shying away from that supposed multiverse concept, as this short reels seems to promise a journey that bridges decades of time. The de-aged, doll looking version of Joaquin Phoenix is starting to make a lot more sense now, as that was one of the first visuals used to raise some questions about this mysterious film, previously titled Disappointment Blvd.
To be fair, Ari Aster did warn the world about his next film not being a horror picture. Among the quick facts about Beau Is Afraid is Aster’s claim that one of the concepts he was looking to make before returning to the realm of screams was “a zonky nightmare comedy.” Those words register even greater after seeing the film’s trailer, as that is a perfect description of what’s going on here.
From what we’ve seen in this initial round of footage, we shouldn’t expect any burning bears or satanic-adjacent cults to pop up in Beau Is Afraid. But that doesn’t mean potential viewers should head in expecting mere rainbows and adventure.
This is a movie promising, “the greatest adventure” our of Beau’s “darkest fears,” and the gate is wide open for nightmares and punchlines to mingle rather freely. Although now that we think about it, this must have been a hell of a warmup for Joaquin Phoenix’s gig in on Joker: Folie à Deux, which recently started filming.
Beau Is Afraid opens up to the world, only in theaters, on April 21st. If you haven't seen Ari Aster's latest, more horrific film Hereditary, you can catch up on those harrowing delights through the world of streaming. Like most of the A24 library, all you need is a Showtime subscription, or a Showtime add-on through your Paramount+ subscription, and you'll be screaming in no time.
