7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic, Kafkaesque odyssey back home.
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Zoe Lister-Jones, Parker Posey, Michael Gandolfini, Amy RyanHorror | 100% |
Dark humor | 46% |
Drama | 29% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Those of us who work in some form or fashion of film related journalism are used to receiving all sorts of PR blather and news related articles via both press agents and ostensibly more objectively reliable sources like industry publications such as Variety and/or The Hollywood Reporter, but I was actually just a little surprised to see more than one piece about Beau Is Afraid in a rather unlikely place, namely The Forward, a publication aimed (largely) at Jews and which actually began its life as a Yiddish publication. These articles were in English, and suffice it to say they were not always favorably inclined toward writer-director Ari Aster, who, at least according to one of the articles, said that Beau Is Afraid is "a Jewish Lord of the Rings, but he's just going to his Mom's house". The Forward was also mightily troubled by Aster's further statement to the audience that "I want to put you in the experience of being a loser," which The Forward alleged at least subliminally implied all Jews were in fact "losers". Somewhat hilariously, though, The Forward managed a nice punchline (a Jewish provenance if ever there were one), stating that the film offers (to paraphrase them) Sophie Portnoy as Sauron, a Philip Roth inspired reference to Beau's monstrous mother Mona, and in that regard, I kind of comically imagined none other than Sigmund Freud slogging through this three hour series of unfortunate events in an attempt to understand Aster's psyche, at which point the famed psychoanalyst tells the auteur, "You're going to need someone seriously more skilled than I am to help you with these problems."
Beau Is Afraid is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of A24 and Liongate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMDb lists the Sony CineAlta and a 4K DI as the relevant data points, and this presentation is often gobsmacking, if occasionally on the disturbing side. A somewhat dowdy, tamped down and slightly yellowish palette can accompany some of Beau's early "adventures" in his apartment house and in the frighteningly dystopian urban environment surrounding it, but later in the film when he encounters Roger and Grace, things can become almost candy colored and pastel laden. An even later surreal sequence finds Beau surrounded by blatantly theatrical sets and other accoutrements, which even includes some brief animated moments. The result is probably intentionally heterogenous, but the transfer offers secure detail levels and a really lushly saturated palette virtually all of the time. There is some very brief flirtation with Liongate's bugaboo of banding in the very opening vignette which I'm assuming purports to give a womb's eye POV of a birth, with some washes of light.
Beau Is Afraid features a robust DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which gets off to a surreal bang with at least one booming LFE sound effect that is certainly in the "startle" category. The film's cartwheeling style offers great opportunities for washes of chaotic city noise early in the story and then, later at Roger and Grace's abode, more of a rural country feel. The score is as anachronistically diverse as the rest of the film and fills the side and rear channels engagingly. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.
I've mentioned before with some A24 enterprises how it's interesting to see how Lionsgate releases some, and A24 itself releases some, including some exclusive A24 releases after wider Lionsgate releases, and I have a sneaking, anxiety ridden, premonition that we're going to get a "very special edition" of Beau Is Afraid. I'm not sure everyone is going to be along for the ride that an extended director's cut of this particular opus may bring, but all joking aside, this is a really audacious film on any number of levels. I'm just not sure it means much, if anything. Technical merits are first rate and the sole supplement very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
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