Beau Is Afraid (2023)
The most self-indulgent and pretentious slog you'll ever have to endure. I get that Aster is trying to depict Jewish anxiety, especially about death ("You will find them to be the most covetous people of life, and from the polytheists. One of them wishes to live for a thousand years, though he would not escape torment were he to live that long.") & overbearing motherhood.
It has some fascinating scenes & interesting ideas but the entire thing just screams that someone should have told Aster, "no." If there were a very very significant amount of pushback & critique, this could have been something special. But Aster should not be given unrestricted creative license.
Originally published on Letterboxd. Browse all film reviews.