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Coverage dated April 10, 2023 to April 13, 2023

Ari Aster's 'Beau is Afraid' and the fears of facing yourself

Headline from Los Angeles Times, on the newest of 2 developments

Ari Aster returns with a disorienting horror film of the soul starring Joaquin Phoenix as a man coming to grips with his relationship with his mother.

Los Angeles Times's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.

Developments in this update

2 dated developments, oldest first, newest marked. Each is named by one outlet's own headline; open its reports to see every outlet that covered it.

  1. ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Review: Joaquin Phoenix Grapples With Mother Issues in Ari Aster’s Bonkers Freudian Freakout

    Headline from The Hollywood Reporter ·

  2. Newest

    Ari Aster's 'Beau is Afraid' and the fears of facing yourself

    Headline from Los Angeles Times ·

Read the reports

Reports & sources

15 articles, oldest first.

  1. The Hollywood Reporter

    ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Review: Joaquin Phoenix Grapples With Mother Issues in Ari Aster’s Bonkers Freudian Freakout (opens The Hollywood Reporter)

    Published

    The Hollywood Reporter's feed description

    Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane and Parker Posey also star in this pitch-dark existential horror comedy about an emotional wreck on a painfully conflicted journey home.

  2. The Hollywood Reporter

    Inside ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Premiere With Ari Aster, Joaquin Phoenix and Surprise Guest Mariah Carey: “You May Love It and You May Hate It” (opens The Hollywood Reporter)

    Published

    The Hollywood Reporter's feed description

    Auteur Aster presented his A24 film and chatted up his collaboration with the press-shy Oscar winner: "Joaquin is so committed and so engaged that the [film] kept coming back to life."

  3. The Guardian

    Beau Is Afraid review – Ari Aster sends Joaquin Phoenix on an odyssey to nowhere (opens The Guardian)

    Published

    The Guardian's feed description

    This three-plus-hour tale of Oedipal misery sees Phoenix on uncharacteristically boring form, and ultimately collapses into silliness

  4. Variety

    'Beau Is Afraid' Review: Ari Aster's Runaway Arrested-Development Epic (opens Variety)

    Published

    Variety's feed description

    Starring Joaquin Phoenix as a simpering man-child, 'Beau Is Afraid' reflects what happens when a gifted artist is given too much creative freedom.

  5. Variety

    'Beau Is Afraid' Premiere: Ari Aster Talks Joaquin Phoenix and A24 (opens Variety)

    Published

    Variety's feed description

    "Beau Is Afraid" director Ari Aster jokes that he had to beg Joaquin Phoenix to star in the movie.

  6. Rolling Stone

    'Beau Is Afraid' Is the 'Citizen Kane' of Mommy-Issues Movies (opens Rolling Stone)

    Published

    Rolling Stone's feed description

    Ari Aster’s follow-up to Midsommar drops Joaquin Phoenix into a nightmare fueled by guilt, paranoia and an overbearing mom. It’s either the most terrifying comedy or the funniest horror film of 202…

  7. Deadline

    ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Review: Joaquin Phoenix Takes His Mommy Issues On An Odd-yssey That Is Bonkers Even By Ari Aster’s Standards (opens Deadline)

    Published

    Deadline's feed description

    At a surprise New York City screening, or rather unveiling, of Beau Is Afraid a few days ago, the Q&A moderator, actress Emma Stone, reportedly began by asking writer-director Ari Aster, “…

  8. Avclub

    Beau Is Afraid review: irritating and uncomfortable, by design (opens Avclub)

    Published

    Avclub's feed description

    Joaquin Phoenix is on an existential search for his mother in Ari Aster's insufferable—but occasionally quite good—horror comedy.

  9. CBS News

    'Beau Is Afraid' director Ari Aster would rather you didn't read this interview (opens CBS News)

    Published

    CBS News's feed description

    Ari Aster would rather you didn't read this. Don't take my word for it -- the writer-director of "Hereditary," "Midsommar" and now "Beau Is Afraid" said as much himself.

  10. The New Yorker

    “Beau Is Afraid” ’s Wearisome Excess (opens The New Yorker)

    Published

    The New Yorker's feed description

    Ari Aster’s Oedipal horror, starring Joaquin Phoenix, is filled with nervous wreckage, and leaves the unsettling sense of having stumbled upon an extended therapy session rather than a film.

  11. Reason

    Review: 'Beau Is Afraid' (opens Reason)

    Published

    Reason's feed description

    Almost almost every minute of the home stretch in "Beau Is Afraid"—Ari Aster's new film—might have been custom-designed to crush a viewer’s interest.

  12. Vox

    What the hell is going on in Beau Is Afraid? (opens Vox)

    Published

    Vox's feed description

    The myths, mess, and creepy magic of Ari Aster’s latest nightmare.

  13. Los Angeles Times

    Ari Aster's 'Beau is Afraid' and the fears of facing yourself (opens Los Angeles Times)

    Published

    Los Angeles Times's feed description

    Ari Aster returns with a disorienting horror film of the soul starring Joaquin Phoenix as a man coming to grips with his relationship with his mother.

  14. Deadline

    ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Producer Lars Knudsen On The ‘Hereditary’ Final-Cut Battle That Cemented His Partnership With Ari Aster & Realizing The Filmmaker’s Most Expansive Vision Yet (opens Deadline)

    Published

    Deadline's feed description

    In his third feature outing with ascendant genre filmmaker Ari Aster on Beau Is Afraid, Lars Knudsen produced the duo’s most ambitious, thought-provoking and outlandish work yet — a nightmare…

Identical headlines usually mean shared wire copy. They are counted as separate articles but are not independent confirmation.