10 Best Movies Of 2023 (So Far)
7. Beau Is Afraid
Ari Aster's hypnotic fever dream of a third feature certainly won't be for everyone, but its darkly hilarious, nightmarish vision just might be one of cinema's all-time great depictions of anxiety.
If certainly far more challenging than Aster's prior films Hereditary and Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid leans safely on a superb performance from Joaquin Phoenix as a man tearing apart at the seams following his mother's death.
Boldly hopping between genres at a moment's notice over the course of its admittedly overlong three hours, this is an ambitious, lunatic odyssey the sort of which rarely gets made these days. Love it or hate it, it makes one hell of an impression.
If sure to alienate as many (if not more) than it entertains, Beau Is Afraid proudly flies the flag for original, boundary-pushing cinema - and that's something well worth celebrating.
Whatever Aster gets up to next, it's gonna be one hell of a sight to see.