Jonathan Mendelsohn
This past Friday, Ari Aster’s 3-hour-long, surrealistic tour-de-force hit theaters, and moviegoers did not shy away from sharing their opinions of the enigmatic film on Twitter. The movie’s star, Joaquin Phoenix, also shared some peculiar opinions of his own regarding the movie while recently speaking with Fandango.
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In a recent interview, Phoenix said, “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***ing movie… But if you do it, film yourself. But don’t do it!”
Be Afraid of Beau is Afraid
Phoenix then opened up about the challenging experience of watching his own film for the first time, saying, “I was definitely squirming in my seat. First of all, I’m just laughing about the entire f***ing movie. There’s a couple of sequences where I’m just squirming – I mean, stuff that [Ari] did with the sound design, it was really great. It’s such a rich world, and there’s so many details to see in it. It is a hundred percent a movie that you feel. There’s so many rich, complex themes in this film, but it’s such a visceral experience to watch it. Then you leave, and when that feeling subsides, you start thinking about it.”
Whether under the influence of psychedelics or not, some moviegoers were completely freaked out by Beau is Afraid, and rightfully so. Many decided to open up about their opinions on Twitter, with Twitter user @Calebnavarette posting a clip of Eric Andre crying and saying “What’s going on with you, what are you talking about,” alongside the text, “Me to Ari Aster after watching Beau is Afraid.” Twitter user @thesamuelbeez tweeted, “even if I hate Beau Is Afraid, i know I will always be rooting for it because “self-indulgent”, artist-driven, divisive passion projects are totally my s*** and something I’m glad we’re still getting.”
The film, which has been described by director Ari Aster as a “nightmare comedy,” is an exploration of anxiety that follows Beau (Phoenix), as he begins an epic journey to get home to his mother. Aster previously directed the horror films Hereditary and Midsommar, but Beau is Afraid is hard to classify into just one genre. Beau is Afraid is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
