Beau is Afraid is, if nothing else, one trippy movie. However, star Joaquin Phoenix was a hilarious warning to fans before seeing Ari Aster's latest film.
Speaking to Fandango, Phoenix gave one warning ahead of seeing Beau is Afraid: Don't take mushrooms beforehand. “I was told from someone in college that there was this college thread amongst friends, a challenge they were going to take mushrooms and go see this movie, and I just wanted to make a public service announcement and say, do not take mushrooms and go see this f**king movie.” However, if you proceed to do so and go against the words of the Joker actor, he has one request: “But if you do it, film yourself. But don't do it!” he joked.
Beau is Afraid is Ari Aster's latest film and follows the journey of Beau (Phoenix), a man paranoidly scared of the world, as he attempts to make it to his mother's funeral (her request was that she was not to be buried until he delivered a eulogy). While that doesn't sound weird on the surface, it is — just believe yours truly who had to sit through the entire three-hour runtime.
Before Everything Everywhere All at Once came along, Aster's directorial debut, Hereditary, was indie distributor A24's highest-grossing film ($81 million worldwide). Aster's second feature, Midsommar, grossed $46 million worldwide in 2019 and was the quintessential “anti-date” movie of the year (I feel sorry for any poor chap who took their partner to this film).
To its credit, Beau is Afraid had a fantastic opening weekend — grossing $320,396 in just four theaters across New York City and Los Angeles last week ahead of its national rollout this weekend. In fairness, the film was aided by opening with IMAX showings, which are priced higher than standard showings. Be that as it may, it looks like A24 could have another hit on its hands from one Ari Aster.
Maybe Joaquin Phoenix is right, maybe he's wrong. The person sitting on my left muttered “I ain't high enough for this s**t” at one point in the film. That said, Aster's latest film is full of trippy and out-there visuals, so you may get the same effect without having to take any substances.
Beau is Afraid is in theaters now.
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