When it comes to Ari Aster’s latest film, Beau Is Afraid, we can use all the help we can get when trying to decipher what to expect from the filmmaker’s upcoming project. A new teaser released by A24 is better spelling out the time-hopping plot of Joaquin Phoenix’s character’s journey through life. While it may not be on the same level of horror as the director’s previous titles, Midsommar and Hereditary, today’s look reveals that Aster is sticking to what he knows best with Beau Is Afraid heavily leaning into the true horrors of family trauma.
Opening on Phoenix’s titular character, but as his teenage version portrayed by Armen Nahapetian, we see Beau sitting by the pool on a warm summer day and setting eyes on a young woman. A flash to the present day reveals a middle-aged Beau, now played by Phoenix, looking back on a photo of his adolescent crush and reuniting with her in the present day - although the latter could be a dream sequence. Cutting back in time, we witness a dark moment between Beau and his mother, Mona (Zoe Lister-Jones), during which the family trauma theme comes into play.
With the flashbacks coming to a halt, we again join Beau in the present where we uncover the film’s primary plot - he’s traveling to see his mother even though it may not be “safe.” A telling therapy session may reveal more than Beau is comfortable with while we see him dodging cars, speaking to his mother, and looking - well - afraid on what appears to be a mind-altering journey. From the other promo material put out by the film’s marketing team, we’ve been promised an incredibly trippy trek into the psyche of a man facing down his lifelong tumultuous relationship with his overbearing mother.
Who Is in Beau Is Afraid?
Pulling together a star-studded cast for his latest psychologically thrilling story, Aster has signed on some of Hollywood’s biggest names for Beau Is Afraid. While Lister-Jones will portray Beau’s mother in flashbacks, Broadway legend Patti LuPone jumps in to tackle the role of the older version of Mona while the rest of the ensemble cast is made up of familiar and critically celebrated names including Nathan Lane (The Birdcage), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone), Parker Posey (Scream 3), Kylie Rogers (The Whispers), Denis Ménochet (Inglourious Basterds), Michael Gandolfini (The Many Saints of Newark), Richard Kind (Curb Your Enthusiasm), and Stephen McKinley Henderson (Causeway).
Check out the latest trailer for Aster’s Beau Is Afraid below and join an incredible cast on a haunting journey when the title arrives in theaters on April 21.