Film: Beau is Afraid
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Parker Posey, Nathan Lane, Armen Nahapetian, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Richard Kind
Director: Ari Aster
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 179 min

Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) is a paranoid schizophrenic given to hallucinations. This film is basically about his attempt to get to his mother who lives in a different city and it’s an epic odyssey of wildly fluctuating moments of esoteric and quixotic drama, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. And it’s not an easy watch at all.

The narrative is indescribable as it plays out in messed-up, weird, outlandish, absurd, and insane extremes. It’s a dark comedy but you may just end up crying at the end of it all. Given the 179 min runtime, this filmed experience is a marathon of sorts. The structure feels like four movies combined into one.
Beau is a man plagued with an insane amount of anxiety. He has arranged to visit his mother on the anniversary of his father`s death by buying a plane ticket, but his fears and other incredibly cryptic circumstances prevent him from making it to his Mother’s.  Beau’s mental demons come into play and we see him having to confront them as the narrative plays out.