"Beau Is Afraid" -- Movie Review

 

This week at Lincoln Center, I attended a special screening of Ari Aster’s new comedy-horror, “Beau Is Afraid”, starring Joaquin Phoenix. 

Synopsis

When a man tries to attend his mother’s funeral, he sets out on an odyssey that will change his view of the world forever.

Story

Beau (Phoenix) is set to fly to his mother’s for a family get-together – but after a non-stop series off chaotic events, he is forced to cancel his trip.  Shortly thereafter, he learns that his mother has passed away under some rather unusual circumstances; now, he is forced to make the trip to attend her funeral – and as her only son, he must deliver the eulogy as well.  Following yet another unforeseen accident, he is taken in by a surgeon and his wife (Nathan Lane and Amy Ryan) who dedicate themselves to nursing him back to health.  Although the surgeon offers to drive him to his mother’s house, this plan goes awry when some urgent surgeries are scheduled. 

Once he’s meant to feel unwelcome in their home, Beau leaves and tries to see if he can somehow make his way to his mother’s in time for the funeral (which has already been pushed back because of his lateness).  Getting lost in the woods, he’s “adopted” by a group of strangers who live there and put on stage shows on a regular basis.  The stage show that appears this night is one into which Beau is immediately drawn into emotionally; he sees how much different his life would have turned out to be had he only made different choices in his life.  He suddenly has flashbacks to his youth where he is reminded of the warped relationship he had with his mother, not to mention missed opportunities for romance. 

When he’s forced to leave this group, he hitchhikes his way to his mother’s expansive house.  It turns out he’s too late – the funeral is long over and everyone has left quite some time ago.  But all is not lost – coming to pay her respects is Elaine (Parker Posey), Beau’s long-lost love who apparently never forgot Beau and his mother when they met during a vacation.  When their unplanned tryst takes an unfortunate turn, something happens that causes Beau’s perspective of his mother to be altered permanently – and not for the better.  Despite this, can Beau finally resolve these conflicts and move on with his life?

Review

“Beau Is Afraid” is a very controversial motion picture – and deservedly so.  Perhaps the best way to begin a review would be to share with you the following reaction to it which recently appeared on Twitter: 

Just left a screening of “Beau Is Afraid.” Before credits started rolling 1 guy in audience stood up and yelled “I better not hear a single person f***ing clap.” Another dude screamed “that’s the worst movie I’ve ever seen.” A girl yelled “total piece of shit”#BeauIsAfraid

— The Noise FM (@thenoisefm) April 14, 2023

If you are on Twitter (despite its recent credibility meltdown), it might be a good idea to read that entire thread; it’s rather interesting to see the strong reactions some people are having to this movie.

Aster has gone on record as saying that with “Beau Is Afraid”, he may have created a new genre of film called The Nightmare Comedy.  After seeing this movie, it seems clear that it’s a nightmare, but you’d really have to dig hard to find the comedy parts.  This was screened in a theater that was nearly packed and to be sure, there was a section of audience members that were laughing hard at portions of the motion picture – the only thing is that it seemed to be a group from the same area of seats and they were mostly all sitting together.  Make of that what you will.  To be sure, “Beau Is Afraid” is most definitely not for everyone.

Many of the criticisms that have been voiced include the fact that at three hours the movie is too long.  No argument here.  It has also been accused of being self-indulgent, which partially accounts for the length.  Again, agree with this observation.  In the post-screening interview, Aster seems to encounter immense difficulty explaining the film or his choices or himself, for that matter.  When you hear such hesitancy from the filmmaker, it suggests that he’s not well thought-out on the project.  Having said that, there does appear to be a staunch community of cinephiles that laud “Beau Is Afraid” as a great work of art and they look forward to a second viewing. 

Writer/Director Ari Aster was brave enough to participate in an interview following the screening.  Aster said that he wanted to create a world in which the protagonist felt as if he was trapped in a hall of mirrors, seeing reflections that were occasionally distorted.  The director kept wanting to move the story from humor to horror and back again, while keeping Beau a relatable character.  He intended for Beau’s mother to be THE mother – in other words, he wanted her to be seen like a God (at least to Beau).  Aster wanted this character to be about either the fear of who your mother might be or what she might turn into. 

"Little Richard: I Am Everything" -- Movie Review

 

At a special screening from Lincoln Center, I saw the new documentary, “Little Richard:  I Am Everything”. 

Synopsis

The personal and professional life of the man whom many consider the progenitor of rock and roll music.

Story

In 1932, a force of nature was brought into this world when Richard Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia.  Of course, it wasn’t until years later that people would know him by his stage name of Little Richard.  Although he would go on to record for Specialty Records and acquired local notoriety, it wasn’t until he recorded a song called "Tutti-Frutti” that he earned nationwide recognition.  But the song almost wasn’t recorded because the executives at the record company knew that the sexually explicit lyrics would never be permitted play on any radio station.  As a result, they had someone else rewrite the lyrics, which would be the version Richard recorded.

The problem came when white recording artists gained more fame (and money) than Richard when they recorded their own version of the same song – most notably Elvis Presley and Pat Boone.  It also didn’t help when the deal that Richard signed with his record label was such that he didn’t make much money on the records that were sold.  As a result, Richard had to work harder and harder, realizing that what would set him apart would be his live performance style in addition to catchy songs.  In the mid-1950’s, his unique style started to catch on and he finally started to make the kind of money he deserved. 

In 1962, the Beatles opened for him in Hamburg, Germany and the band treated him like royalty.  In 1963, he toured Europe where his opening act was The Rolling Stones, who were a cover band at that time; Mick Jagger said that he learned how to work the stage by watching what Richard did during his concert performances throughout the tour.  Later on, Richard’s homosexuality came in conflict with his religious background and he quit music in favor of preaching – but when that didn’t earn him much money, he went back to music.  However, reconciling his sexual feelings with his religious beliefs would haunt him for the rest of his life.   

Review

“Little Richard:  I Am Everything”, while enjoyable during the star’s performances, is a very complex story – and rightly so, because Richard himself was a very complicated man. Conflicted about his homosexuality because of the time in which he was raised as well as his religious upbringing, he would vacillate between preaching and music – and much of that preaching was in denial of his admitted homosexuality.  Despite his success, his life was not a happy one, partly because he could not be his true self but also because he was bitter about not receiving the recognition he felt he deserved. 

The documentary could be used as a useful teaching moment to not only provide young people with a sense of history about 20^th century popular music trends but also about the African-American experience during that time as well as how closeted and underground the gay and trans community needed to be in order to merely survive.  This shared experience greatly explains how and why they formed such closely-knit friendships and served as each others’ support systems when no one else would.  As time evolved, so did society’s view of such things – but this did not happen overnight; instead, it took decades.    

Post-screening, Rolling Stone movie critic David Fear interviewed the documentary’s director Lisa Cortes.  She said that she deliberately chose archival footage of Little Richard to in a sense “narrate” the movie because she wanted an immersive experience for the viewer without being a hagiography – as borne out by various people who knew him on either a professional or personal level throughout his life.  One scene that Cortes had to cut was one between Sir Lady Java and Lee Angel where they were both recounting entertaining stories about Richard while getting drunk on beer.

 

"Mutt" -- Movie Review

 

On the Closing Night of the New Directors/New Films Festival, I attended a screening of the new drama “Mutt”. 

Synopsis

When a young trans person confronts people from their past, is there any hope for these relationships to be reconciled?

Story

Despite being anxious about their father visiting from Chile, Feña (Lío Mehiel) is nevertheless looking forward to have him see how they are flourishing in New York City.  Feña’s anxiety largely comes from the family’s shock that Feña came out as trans a while back, transitioning from female to male.  This has caused a strain on Feña’s relationship with her mother, from whom she’s estranged, despite the fact that she lives in New York City, too; she has not only kicked Feña  out of her house, but she has also forbidden any contact with her or Feña’s younger sister Zoe (MiMi Ryder). 

One night while out with friends, Feña runs into John (Cole Doman), an ex-boyfriend.  When Feña was a female, they were together; her transition to male is what caused them to break-up.  Later that evening, they spend some time with together; clearly, they are still drawn to each other, despite the fact that the break-up was over a year and a half ago.  After revealing Feña’s top surgery (i.e., breast removal), they wind up, perhaps unwisely, spending the night together.  The next day, Zoe finds Feña, who’s now also on the outs with their mother over school.  They haven’t been in touch with each other for a long time and it’s clear both wish to reconnect.

Just when Feña has to drive to the airport to pick-up their father, a series of calamities occur.  First, she gets locked out of her apartment and is also without her cell phone.  Second, the person who was going to loan Feña a car has reneged, so Feña is awkwardly forced to ask John to borrow his car.  Ultimately, Feña gets their father (albeit late) and brings him back to the apartment.  But when old wounds suddenly resurface during the ride home, will the two still be able to resolve their conflicts or will they discover that they can no longer have any kind of relationship with each other?   

Review

One of the problems with “Mutt” is that while we are clearly supposed to be sympathizing with and rooting for Feña, the character is written in such a way that obstacles are constantly thrown in the way that make it difficult for the audience to do so.  Specifically, Feña seems to be obsessed with constantly making bad life choices or having poor judgement.  While it’s true that fate is being particularly cruel to Feña and one may feel that the character has suffered enough, you get the impression that Feña brings about some of their own bad luck by going out of their way to do so. 

There is one scene late in the movie between Feña and John where this seems to be brought out; they get into an argument at one point and he blasts Feña for being a jerk both in the way the transition occurred and in the way Feña treats people once they began the transition.  Understandably, John still feels hurt, embarrassment and abandonment; although Feña attempts to apologize, it is clearly far too late.  One gets the sense that Feña might have found more allies in their life had the transition been handled more deftly.  Some relationships may be repaired, others not. 

An interview with writer/director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz took place after the screening; he was joined by cast members Lío Mehiel, Cole Doman & MiMi Ryder.  Lungulov-Klotz said that the casting process took about two years because it was difficult to find young trans actors that could carry off the role.  He and Mehiel spent quite a bit of time with each other prior to shooting the film in order to become familiar with each other.  Likewise, when Doman was cast, he also spent an evening with Mehiel for the same reason.  Lungulov-Klotz believes that New York City is the perfect setting for this movie because so many trans people flock here because they feel accepted and comfortable. 

"Astrakan" -- Movie Review

 

On the first weekend of the New Directors/New Films festival, I attended the U.S. Premiere of the new French drama “Astrakan” by director David Depesseville. 

Synopsis

When an orphaned boy is taken in by foster parents, will he be able to fit in with his new family?

Story

Samuel, a boy in early adolescence, suddenly finds himself in an unfamiliar circumstance.  With his father dead at the hands of the police and his mother – well, that’s something of a mystery – he has no one to take care of him.  After living in a government-run facility, he’s taken in by foster parents Marie and Clement, who live in a rural area of France.  They take him in not because they wanted another son (they already have two boys) but because they are poor and need the money the government pays them to care for Samuel.  Neither one of them keep it a secret from Samuel that they resent having to take him in and he’s reminded daily that he’s unwelcome in their home.

At school, Samuel isn’t faring much better – it doesn’t seem like he has many friends.  However, one day, Hélène shows up at his door – she’s a classmate of Samuel’s and asks permission for him to come over to her house to play.  Samuel goes home with her, but it soon becomes evident that Hélène has romantic designs on him.  This is a new experience for him – feeling a bit uncomfortable, he heads home.  Eventually, they become more comfortable with each other and he sees her as his girlfriend – at least until he discovers her being particularly friendly with another boy in their class. 

Marie and Clement are feeling a bit overwhelmed taking care of Samuel and decide to drop him off at her parents’ house for a while so they can take a break; Luc, Marie’s brother, also lives there.  It seems that he may have sexual feelings toward Samuel, which he is also careful to elude.  After Samuel returns home, he finds out that Luc has died in a car accident.  At the funeral, Samuel does something unforgivably outrageous.  By now, Marie and Clement are at their wits’ end.  If they return Samuel to social services, they won’t have to deal with anymore headaches – but if they do so, they won’t be able to collect the money they’re taking for foster care.  What will they decide? 

Review

No doubt about it, “Astrakan” is a difficult film to watch for a number of reasons.  For one thing, seeing this boy physically abused by his foster father is tough to witness.  But there are other things that are of a more technical nature that add to the difficulty.  There’s very little in the way of backstory here and it can take the viewer a while to get one’s footing in the story.  Who is Samuel?  Why is he here?  How did he manage to get here?  Additionally, Samuel’s behavior is so weird that it’s quite a challenge to root for him, although clearly that’s precisely what the audience is supposed to be doing. 

Speaking of for whom the audience should be getting behind, sometimes you feel as though it’s the foster parents, despite how egregious their own behavior towards Samuel may be.  Why?  Because Samuel is so hard to deal with (especially when compared to their own sons) that you can certainly understand their frustration.  Other reasons why this film is challenging (in a bad way) is that there are a great many tonal shifts throughout the story, especially at the end.  This can be incredibly disconcerting and doesn’t serve the movie well at all.  It is not only a rollercoaster ride that takes you up and down, but also side-to-side. 

In a post-screening interview, director David Depesseville said that the Director of Photography, a friend who worked on previous films, suggested early on that for his first feature film, Depesseville should shoot on film.  Specifically, they settled on 16mm because its blurriness had something of a soft, gentle quality to it while HD digital video would’ve been just too raw. Depesseville decided to make the viewer an active participant in the film, which is one of the reasons many people describe it as elliptical.  He prefers to have the viewers make up their mind about what’s going on in the movie, particularly in its last sequence.