By Chris Narine

For half a decade, Ari Aster has made a name for himself as one of modern cinema’s most unique and distinct voices through his eerie and often unsettling focus on the macabre. Working steadily with independent entertainment studio A24, in 2018, he broke onto the scene with his first feature-length film “Hereditary,” which left critics and audiences impressed by Aster’s strong direction, terrific performances, and the immaculate tension and sense of dread that Aster was able to convey with precision and grace.

Just a year later, he followed up “Hereditary” with 2019’s critically acclaimed summer horror hit “Midsommar,” which found Aster continuing to display his expertise as a horror filmmaker. Now he brings us “Beau Is Afraid,”; a nearly 3-hour opus that finds Aster dialing back from his sensibilities as a horror filmmaker in favor of dark comedy and surrealism, and collaborating with acclaimed, Academy Award-winning Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role of Beau, alongside a supporting cast with the likes of Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, and Stephen McKinley Henderson.

The plot centers on Beau Wasserman, an anxiety-ridden, middle-aged man, played to perfection by Phoenix, who, after a series of disturbances and tribulations, embarks on an existential odyssey to attend the funeral of his mother Mona (played by Patti LuPone, and Zoe Lister-Jones in flashback sequences, as a young Mona) funeral. What follows is the said odyssey is a series of stops, pitfalls, and sheer unpredictability, as Beau encounters headfirst the manifestation of his anxieties coming to life, as every character he encounters on his journey seems only to prolong his stresses and delay his attendance at his mother’s funeral. No matter how far Beau may think he has progressed along his journey, someone is always lurking behind the next scene, ready for disruption. Interspersed throughout the narrative are brief flashbacks that give us a glimpse into the true nature of his relationship with his mother.

What works best for Aster’s return to form with “Beau Is Afraid” is his commitment to selling the many dark and surreal obscenities that drive the plot forward, as “Beau” is filled from beginning to end with striking, at times unapologetically violent imagery. Yet his cruel sensibilities on display with the humor and Phoenix’s range as a performer are always in sync. While Beau himself may be put through the wringer, there’s something so refreshingly wholesome in how Phoenix portrays him, as you’re always rooting for him to find some semblance of happiness amid the absurdities of his own life. For the first two acts, “Beau Is Afraid” works incredibly well as a study of one’s anxiety and paranoia being manifested in reality through no fault of their own, as well as a bizarrely thoughtful meditation on life; with a stunning, partially-animated 10-minute sequence in the middle of the film surely honing itself in as one of the very best and most memorable film sequences in recent memory.

Yet, for all the ambition on display here, the third act squashes some of Aster’s sheer industry. The further we learn about Beau’s upbringing and the true nature of his mother Mona’s parenting techniques, the more Aster’s characterization of Mona feels less like a genuine depiction of an abusive figure. Mona (though well acted by both Patti LuPone and Zoe-Lister Jones) is instead given a broader generalization, resulting in a climax that reaches far too deep in its cynical musings without a clear enough thesis to render its themes anything above a surface level. While we know that Beau himself is a fragile, broken man who’d be given misfortunes through no fault of his own, the repetition of the film’s structure fails to provide an arc that feels earned or even satisfying for Beau. While I take no issue with a filmmaker displaying their own morose and derisive sensibilities, for Aster, his choices eventually begin to feel bloated, harming the overall flow and pace of the narrative on display.

Nevertheless, though not without its flaws, “Beau Is Afraid” still works as an admirable effort from Aster, despite its shortcomings. It’s hard not to still revel in Aster’s commitment to the dark absurdities that flounder in his latest picture and the ambitious storytelling showcased throughout. Where “Beau” falters with its over-indulgence in cynically-crafted plot devices designed only to further the suffering of its relatively meager protagonist, it mostly redeems itself due to the craft and skill that Aster sets on display. Always a pleasure to see a modern auteur swing for the fences, even if the landing isn’t always up for the task. If nothing else, it serves as a mere reminder of Joaquin Phoenix’s prowess as an actor, as his work here is among the best of his career, as he drives the story forward with his relentless commitment to providing empathy for a distraught, profoundly morose soul. [B]