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Beau Is Afraid is a 2023 American surrealist tragicomedy horror film written, directed, and co-produced by Ari Aster. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the title character, and also includes a supporting ensemble cast consisting of Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Kylie Rogers, Parker Posey, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Hayley Squires, Michael Gandolfini, Zoe Lister-Jones, Armen Nahapetian, and Richard Kind. Its plot follows the mild-mannered but paranoia-ridden Beau as he embarks on a surreal odyssey to get home to his mother's funeral, realizing his greatest fears along the way. Distributed by A24, Beau Is Afraid premiered at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on April 1, 2023, and began a limited theatrical release in the United States on April 14, 2023, before a wide release the following week. The film received generally positive reviews from critics but was a box-office bomb, grossing only $11 million. Phoenix received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. Plot Beau Wassermann is the son of a famous and wealthy businesswoman, Mona, who is responsible for building a large conglomerate empire. He grows up without a father, who his mother claims died the night Beau was conceived due to a hereditary heart murmur during orgasm; he also struggles with a recurring dream in which he watches from a bathtub as an identical twin demands to know what really happened, to which she locks him in the attic. While on a cruise trip with his mother, a teenage Beau meets and falls in love with a girl named Elaine. The two kiss and promise to remain virgins until they meet again. Now independent and middle-aged, Beau suffers from extreme anxiety and lives alone in a crime-ridden city. He prepares for a flight to see his mother for the anniversary of his father's death, but misses his plane after his keys and luggage are stolen by a stranger at his door. Beau calls his mother to explain the situation, but she dismisses him. After having been locked out by deranged homeless people for the night, he attempts to call his mother again, only to have it answered by a UPS driver who finds an unidentified body that was decapitated by a falling chandelier, leading Beau to believe his mother is dead. After confrontations with an intruder at home, then by a police officer on the street, Beau is hit by a food truck and stabbed to near-death by a serial killer. Beau wakes up wounded two days later in the house of a married couple, Grace and Roger, who live with their angsty daughter Toni, and care for an unstable veteran named Jeeves, who was their late son's battle buddy until he was killed in action. Beau calls Mona's attorney, Dr. Cohen, who informs him that despite the Jewish custom to lay the body to rest as soon as possible, her last wish was not to be buried until he was present. Roger promises to take Beau to his mother's estate as soon as possible but insists Beau rest until he is healed. On the day of Beau's release, Toni, who has grown to resent Beau for seemingly replacing her deceased brother, attempts to force him to drink a can of paint, before committing suicide by doing it herself. Grace walks in on Beau standing over Toni's body and violently blames him for her death. As Beau flees into the woods, Grace sends Jeeves after him. Lost in the wilderness, Beau comes upon a group of traveling theater actors named "The Orphans of the Forest". He is invited to their rehearsal and becomes entranced by the play, imagining himself as the protagonist, who spends his entire life looking for his family after they are separated by a flood. A man approaches Beau and informs him that he knew his father, who he says is still alive. The troupe is ambushed by Jeeves, who slaughters several actors. Beau flees deeper into the woods; he is knocked unconscious when Jeeves triggers his ankle monitor, placed on him by Roger. Beau hitchhikes the rest of the way to his mother's estate, only to find that he has just missed her funeral. Beau is awakened from a nap when a woman arrives late for the service, and realizes it is Elaine. They reconnect before having sex. Beau is terrified that he is going to die upon climaxing but is relieved when he survives. Elaine, however, dies mid-orgasm, her body frozen stiff. Mona then appears from the shadows and reveals that she has been alive and spying on him all along his journey. She guilt-trips Beau for supposedly not loving her enough and plays audio recordings of his therapy sessions. When Beau demands to know the truth about his father, Mona takes him to the attic, where Beau discovers he has a twin brother locked in the attic and that his father is actually a giant penis-shaped monster. At that moment, Jeeves breaks into the house and is killed by the monster. Beau begs his mother for forgiveness, but Mona further berates him, ultimately telling him that she hates him. In response, an enraged Beau briefly attempts to strangle her before she collapses. In shock, Beau leaves the estate on a motorboat. After entering a cave, the boat's motor begins to stall, and he suddenly finds himself in a crowded arena. He is put on trial for perceived slights against his mother, with Mona and Dr. Cohen acting as prosecutors; a cheap lawyer attempts to defend Beau but is ultimately thrown to his death by Mona's employees. With his feet glued to the boat, Beau tries to fend for himself and appeal to his mother, but she does not respond. Realizing he is completely hopeless in his situation, he decides to accept his fate. The motor explodes, capsizing the boat and drowning Beau. The credits roll as the crowd silently leaves the arena along with Dr. Cohen and Mona, the latter of whom sobs uncontrollably. Cast Alicia Rosario appears as Toni's friend Liz. Patrick Kwok-Choon, Maev Beaty, and Arthur Holden appear as members of the forest theater troupe. David Mamet has a vocal cameo as a rabbi. Production Development The film had been in development by Ari Aster for some time, with a 2011 short film entitled Beau, that would later serve as the basis for a sequence in the feature film, and a 2014 draft of the script that circulated on the internet. Aster has described the film in many ways, including initially as a "nightmare comedy," "a Jewish Lord of the Rings, but [Beau's] just going to his mom's house," and as "if you pumped a 10-year-old full of Zoloft, and [had] him get your groceries." Filming In February 2021, A24 announced the film, then titled Disappointment Blvd., with Joaquin Phoenix on board to star in the leading role. The film's ensemble cast was announced in June and July. Co-star Stephen McKinley Henderson described Aster and Phoenix as "so simpatico ... their way of working together was like they were really old friends. They could get upset and make up in the span of seconds, it seemed. But the work was always the better for it." During a Q&A session on April 1, 2023 with actress Emma Stone, Aster recounted an incident in which, during the shooting.... Discover the Beau Johnson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Beau Johnson books.