‘Beau Is Afraid’ Review: Ari Aster’s Stunning, Unknowable and Fearless Opus

For Ariana Madix, the drama and turmoil of the past few months have actually taught her something very important about her own emotional endurance and inner strength.

Ariana Madix, the drama and turmoil of the past few months have actually taught her something very important about her own emotional endurance and inner strength.Madix was joined by Lisa Vanderpump at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, and the reality stars spoke with ET about being at the gala, and the rollercoaster year thus far.«I'm just so excited to be here! This is such a thrill to be invited by the and Lisa,» Madix marveled. «To be able to experience this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a moment that I've honestly dreamed of.»Madix added, «I've watched this correspondents dinner on television the coverage every year so to be able to be here is really incredible.»Madix's tumultuous love life has been front and center of entertainment news coverage over the past two months amind "Scandoval" — the popular term for the cheating scandal that emerged when it was revealed that Madix's longtime boyfriend, Tom Sandoval, had been cheating on her for months with fellow co-star Raquel Leviss.Scandoval has rocked the show itself, with many fans both captivated and angered by the situation and has led to serious turmoil among the cast.«Normally, the magic of this show is the ups and the downs...  the authenticity of the show,» Vanderpump shared with ET.

We’ve known, for a while now, that Martin Scorsese is a big fan of Ari Aster. Several years ago, the legendary director raved about Aster’s second film, “Midsommar.” Now, as Aster receives some of the harshest critiques of his relatively young career, thanks to his third film, “Beau is Afraid,” Scorsese is there to back him up, yet again.  READ MORE: ‘Beau Is Afraid’ Review: Joaquin Phoenix Guides Ari Aster’s Hilarious, Horrific, Despairing Nightmare, Hellish Mom Comedy During a Q&A alongside Ari Aster (via A24), Martin Scorsese talks about the young filmmaker’s career, up to this point, and how he believes Aster is one of the best directors working today.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points for “Beau Is Afraid,” currently playing in theaters. In the final act of Ari Aster’s three-hour anxiety trip “Beau Is Afraid,” Beau, played by Joaquin Phoenix, arrives very late for his mother’s funeral and finds himself reunited with his childhood love Elaine, played by Parker Posey. It’s an awkward reunion for the two, but the two wind up in bed together. Just as they are about to have sex, Elaine pulls out her phone and the intro to Mariah Carey’s 1995 hit “Always Be My Baby” begins to play. Speaking over Zoom, the film’s music supervisor Jemma Burns said Aster told her during their first meeting, “’If there’s one thing you do for me on this film, I have to have this Mariah Carey song.’”

After posting giant per screen numbers at four theaters last weekend, A24’s Beau Is Afraid  jumps to 926 for the distributor’s third outing with Ari Aster. It’s a very different film from his horror favorites Hereditary and Midsommar but one the distributor hopes will cement the director’s place as a modern auteur.

Ari Aster has made a career out of the horror and twisted comedy of anxiety. Regardless of where each individual audience member is in their life or the experiences they’ve had, this is what makes films such as “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” universally loved and relatable.

Ari Aster‘s “Beau Is Afraid” isn’t even in theaters yet, but the “Midsommar” and “Hereditary” already has his fourth film lined up. World Of Reel has the scoop: Aster will start shooting his next movie, “Eddington,” this summer, with Joaquin Phoenix set to lead its ensemble cast.

Here for the laughs! Ariana Madix proved she hasn’t lost her sense of humor while poking fun at ex Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss in a bit for Comedy Central.

Beau Is Afraid posted the top per-screen average of the year so far and the best limited opening for distributor A24 since Uncut Gems, grossing an estimated $320,396 at four locations in New York and LA for a hefty per-screen average of $80K+ in sold-out shows on both coasts. (Uncut Gems with Adam Sandler had a $105k PSA on five screens in 2019 — a limited-opening record at the time.)

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Ari Aster’s latest anxiety-inducer “Beau Is Afraid” is taking the indie box office by storm. The A24 film, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as an apprehensive man who endures a lot over the course of three hours, grossed $320,396 on four screens in New York and Los Angeles. Those ticket sales translate to a sizable $80,099 per location, the biggest screen average of the year. It’s also the second-best per-screen-average for A24 after Adam Sandler’s “Uncut Gems.” Now, “Beau Is Afraid” needs to sustain its momentum as it expands nationwide next weekend. That’s been a struggle for plenty of indies in post-pandemic times, although A24 has managed to propel films like “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “The Whale” to box office success. But “Tár,” “Triangle of Sadness” and other acclaimed arthouse films weren’t as successful in parlaying their huge screen averages — which is the key metric for platform releases — to robust theatrical runs. Those films fizzled after struggling to connect with mainstream audiences.

Ariana Madix is throwing some support on claims Tom Sandoval is a “narcissist.”

Filmmaker Ari Aster has oedipal issues. The artist has deeply complicated and unresolved issues with his mother that go back to his earliest movies (to this day, Aster won’t really talk about his mother in the press and has hinted at a troubled, rocky relationship).

His side of the story. Tom Sandoval opened up about his affair with Raquel Leviss and subsequent split from Ariana Madix during a surprise interview with Howie Mandel.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Director Ari Aster says it took about six months for Joaquin Phoenix to sign on to star in his new movie, “Beau Is Afraid.” “You get on your hands and knees and beg,” Aster jokes about his first meeting with the Oscar winner. “He’s the best. He’s the greatest. He’s the prince. And those eyes. He could be so naked, so exposed, and he’s funny. He’s a funny guy.” Aster (“Hereditary” and “Midsommar”) and his cast celebrated the Los Angeles premiere of the A24 film Monday night at the DGA in West Hollywood. “It’s when I first saw ‘I’m Still Here’ that I knew I needed to work with this guy,” Aster said. “One, it’s such a funny film, and two, that performance is really a brilliant comic performance. But it’s also because as a gesture that movie is suicidal. What he was doing with his own name there is so crazy and funny and sick. It’s like a sick thing to do. Since then, I’ve known I’ve wanted to work with him.”

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Poor Beau. Nearly half a century on Earth, and he’s never really lived. Sure, he was born — that much director Ari Aster depicts from Beau’s point of view at the outset of his wildly self-indulgent and frequently surreal third feature, “Beau Is Afraid,” lingering long enough to witness the infant’s umbilical cord being snipped — but what has Beau done with his life since then? Can it be said that he ever really developed an identity apart from his successful single mom, Mona Wasserman, who haunts the film for the better part of three hours before finally revealing herself? Not since “Psycho” has an off-screen mother loomed so large over a film’s protagonist, played here by Joaquin Phoenix, cowering from the world. The Hitchcock comparison could be misleading, since Aster (who helmed indie studio A24’s two most successful horror movies, “Hereditary” and “Midsommar”) makes a surprising tonal shift away from traditional nightmare material for this deranged road trip, which follows Beau cross-country — and through several substitute families — to face his intimidating Jewish mom.

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, “Are you okay, Ari?”

Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix both hit the town this weekend with dueling events!

Adamari López is stepping away from “Hoy Día,” the morning show she’d been involved with over the past 11 years. ¡HOLA! Américas spoke with Telemundo, whose representatives confirmed the news with a statement. “After 11 years with Telemundo, Telemundo and Adamari López have mutually decided that this is the right time for her to leave her role as one of ‘Hoy Día’s’ anchors.

All eyes on Ariana Madix! The reality star cemented herself as a fashionable force to be reckoned with at the season 10 reunion of Vanderpump Rules with a “revenge dress.” 

In short order, indie filmmaker Ari Aster has become one of the most exciting writer/directors on the planet. Following the one-two punch of two amazing, psychologically bruising horrors, “Hereditary” and “Midsommar,” the filmmaker returns with his most ambitious film, “Beau Is Afraid” which stars Joaquin Phoenix, is a dark, surreal, black comedy nightmare odyssey.