Ari Aster’s third feature “Beau is Afraid” will be launched without a festival run by A24 — a strategy also used for Aster’s “Midsommer.”
This isn’t necessarily surprising given that it failed to appear in the Sundance, Berlin and SXSW lineups when they were announced. A24 seems to believe a festival-less route is the best way forward for Aster’s 3-hour movie.
The trailer for “Beau is Afraid” made it look totally inaccessible. It actually felt like Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York.” If you’ve read the leaked screenplay then you know that it will very much play like Kaufman’s existentialist 2008 film.
Earlier in the month, “Beau is Afraid” earned an “R” Rating for “Strong Violence and Graphic Nudity”. Again, if you’ve read the script, not that surprising. The scenes people will be talking about the most involve —SPOLIERS— giant monster penises and Beau’s unusually massive testicles. I won’t say more.
This will be a film soaked in surrealism. There’s also a lot of existential dread as well. Joaquin Phoenix looks perfectly at home. What is it about exactly? In a nutshell, mommy issues. Dark, gloomy, despairing mommy issues.
The film hits theaters on April 21st.