Through his first two features, Ari Aster has gained a reputation for poking at the fears and anxieties inside of us, whether that be within a family or a cracking heterosexual relationship. His third film, Beau Is Afraid, takes the severe anxieties of one middle-aged man and sprays them across the screen with a power washer. Haunted by the quest to earn his mother’s approval, Joaquin Phoenix is a bundle of nerves as Beau; stammering, stumbling, sweating, and sprinting from one antagonist to the next. His epic journey to return home is uncomfortable, undefinable, and hilarious, with each scene landing differently for each member of the audience. Childhood flashbacks stunt growth and hormones; imagined futures result in solitude; an adulthood of abstinence is blown away in one fell swoop, opening eyes, stopping hearts, and losing more than what’s expected. Insanely perceived, perverted, and potentially very stupid, the film is as bold of a swing as you can take in our current Hollywood ecosystem, and that’s worth something.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Available in theaters.