Joaquin Phoenix Is As Dazed And Confused As I Am In A24’s ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Trailer
I can already tell that 'Hereditary' director Ari Aster and Joaquin Phoenix are a match made in heaven.
American post-horror auteur Ari Aster has returned with an intriguing new film, which looks set to show off Joaquin Phoenix’s surrealist slapstick chops as he embarks on an otherworldly odyssey to find his mother and escape his own mind. Confused? Same.
Helmed by the director of the horrifying family-slasher flick, Hereditary (of which I am still recovering) the first glimpse of Aster’s third film, Beau Is Afraid, is perplexing. Across the darkly chaotic teaser, we follow a dishevelled Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) as he scream-runs from gun-wielding foes and jumps through glass windows to escape hospital attendants, accompanied by the upbeat rhythm of ’70s prog-pop act Supertramp. While I’m not entirely sure what’s going on here, anything that sees Joaquin deliver unhinged chaos is going to receive a resounding yes from me.
Teased by everyone’s favourite indie aesthetic powerhouse A24 as a “decades-spanning surrealist horror film set in an alternate present”, the film also stars The Office’s Amy Ryan who mows down the dazed and confused Beau with her car in the trailer.
Anyway, I think it’s safe to presume that devotees of Aster’s particularly niche brand of horror will be in for a wild ride, with strong flavours of mind fuckery à la Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York) on display alongside the director’s usual penchant for beautifully aesthetic dread.
Beau Is Afraid hits theatres on April 21, catch the trailer below.