Last night I saw Beau Is Afraid, the new A24 film by director Ari Aster.
I am generally a huge fan of Ari Aster. I loved Hereditary (it’s one of my favorite horror movies) and Midsommar. In those films, Aster created a sense of dread that I haven’t experienced watching any other movie. His films are intense, heavy, relentless, and at times, disturbing. However, instead of sticking with the horror genre, Aster is reinventing himself with an amalgamation of comedy and horror in Beau Is Afraid.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but the main thing you should know about the film is that it is weird and it is long. With just under a 3-hour runtime, Beau Is Afraid will leave you feeling bewildered, asking yourself, “What just happened?” as you exit the theater. I can’t say I fully understood what it was about, and I don’t know if I’ll ever watch it again, but I’m glad I saw it, and here’s why.
The world needs more creators (filmmakers, writers, musicians, etc.) that are willing to make stuff that is weird with a capital W. In a world of Marvel movies and endless reboots, Beau Is Afraid felt like the antidote. Aster took a big swing with this film, and while he may not have hit a home run, he definitely didn’t whiff. Despite the movie’s bizarre nature, it was still genuinely funny. There weren’t necessarily “jokes” in the traditional sense, but the situational absurdity got big laughs from the audience.
After the film, all of my friends whom I was with said they didn’t like it. Some said they hated it, while others said they couldn’t quite grasp what it was getting at. But if you check the Rotten Tomatoes score, it has about a 70% Tomatometer score and a 73% audience score, meaning it wasn’t lost on everyone.
For me, I like that there are movies that can push boundaries like this. Beau Is Afraid is not for everyone, and that’s what I love about it. It’s not supposed to be a blockbuster hit. It exists to push the boundaries of what comedy and horror can be. It was not like other dark comedies I’ve seen like Fargo, The Menu, or The Banshees of Inisherin; it felt like it stood on its own, not quite creating a new category, but not quite fitting in with anything else either (keep in mind, I’m not the most well-versed film connoisseur, so take this opinion with a grain of salt).
Overall, Beau Is Afraid reminded me that weird is good. We need artists and creators who are willing to take risks, push boundaries, and invent new things. Perhaps this film wasn’t a groundbreaking breakthrough, but it at least reminded me that if you want to make a statement, you can’t expect everyone to love it. It will need to confuse at least some of your audience.
To all the weirdos in the world, keep being weird.
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Last night I saw Beau Is Afraid, the new A24 film by director Ari Aster.
I am generally a huge fan of Ari Aster. I loved Hereditary (it’s one of my favorite horror movies) and Midsommar. In those films, Aster created a sense of dread that I haven’t experienced watching any other movie. His films are intense, heavy, relentless, and at times, disturbing. However, instead of sticking with the horror genre, Aster is reinventing himself with an amalgamation of comedy and horror in Beau Is Afraid.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but the main thing you should know about the film is that it is weird and it is long. With just under a 3-hour runtime, Beau Is Afraid will leave you feeling bewildered, asking yourself, “What just happened?” as you exit the theater. I can’t say I fully understood what it was about, and I don’t know if I’ll ever watch it again, but I’m glad I saw it, and here’s why.
The world needs more creators (filmmakers, writers, musicians, etc.) that are willing to make stuff that is weird with a capital W. In a world of Marvel movies and endless reboots, Beau Is Afraid felt like the antidote. Aster took a big swing with this film, and while he may not have hit a home run, he definitely didn’t whiff. Despite the movie’s bizarre nature, it was still genuinely funny. There weren’t necessarily “jokes” in the traditional sense, but the situational absurdity got big laughs from the audience.
After the film, all of my friends whom I was with said they didn’t like it. Some said they hated it, while others said they couldn’t quite grasp what it was getting at. But if you check the Rotten Tomatoes score, it has about a 70% Tomatometer score and a 73% audience score, meaning it wasn’t lost on everyone.
For me, I like that there are movies that can push boundaries like this. Beau Is Afraid is not for everyone, and that’s what I love about it. It’s not supposed to be a blockbuster hit. It exists to push the boundaries of what comedy and horror can be. It was not like other dark comedies I’ve seen like Fargo, The Menu, or The Banshees of Inisherin; it felt like it stood on its own, not quite creating a new category, but not quite fitting in with anything else either (keep in mind, I’m not the most well-versed film connoisseur, so take this opinion with a grain of salt).
Overall, Beau Is Afraid reminded me that weird is good. We need artists and creators who are willing to take risks, push boundaries, and invent new things. Perhaps this film wasn’t a groundbreaking breakthrough, but it at least reminded me that if you want to make a statement, you can’t expect everyone to love it. It will need to confuse at least some of your audience.
To all the weirdos in the world, keep being weird.
