WHY BEAU IS AFRAID | A Film Analysis

This movie was 3 hours of raw and consistent "he just like me fr" moments.

The tragedy of Toni's situation is that her parents would never have loved her a fraction as much as they love their dead son, because their dead son is a permanently perfect child. He died a hero (at least according to society's notion that all soldiers who are killed in action are heroes) and now being dead, he can never disappoint his parents, he can never betray them. Consequently, Beau empathizes with Toni more so than anybody else whose path he crosses because he knows what it's like to never live up to parents' impossible standards.

This is such a good break down and made me notice that Beau’s mom is 100% a narcissist. She is incapable of feeling empathy for him, she sees herself as this perfect mother and amazing business woman, she uses people for her own gain, she fails to see how her own toxicity is pushing Beau away, furthermore she doesn’t even think she’s done anything wrong and feels it’s everyone else who’s out to get her, and at the root of it all she’s a deeply insecure and unloved person. When you view Beau’s relationship with his mom through the lense of living with a narcissist it makes so much more sense. Even the trial at the end of the film is just a literal representation of trying to defend yourself against someone who sees everything you do as a personal attack to them

The Last words made this amazing analysis even better. "In the end Beau was afraid, but only because Mona was Terrified". 🎉

Something about that scene where he crosses the street for water and that homeless guy immediately follows him frantically asking for help… got my anxiety in high gear. That feeling of how you’re in desperate need of a fix yourself and you feel and hurt for others asking for help. Pure chaos in the head.

this was a masterclass of a breakdown oh my god

This is undoubtedly the most accurate representation of the movie I've seen. People always skip over the part where he is called selfish by the play narrator and confesses cowardice. He then wakes up to horns and lives out a fairytale. He is guilty, of not standing up for himself, of cowardice. Only through reflecting on this was he able to grow beyond it. Compared to the end scene where his self-respect is thrown off a ledge and when the horns blare he begs for help from his mom, falling back into the same trap. Which reminds me - if you rewatch the part where he first enters the play company and listen to the actors previewing they are foreshadowing the ending. Seem to be speaking about the cave 'if it were a trap? Or is it an opportunity?...' the scene even ends with stage lights mimicking the projectors in the arena and Beau having water dumped on his head (drowning). I also wonder what the boat engine represents at the end. Clearly he has had some motivation pushing him forward through the constant cycles of abuse from his mother. What broke down here? His sanity?

This film is just one giant intrusive thought

I’ll expose a dumb bias I had in avoiding this video due to low view count but this is by far the best video on this movie on YouTube. Great work! Another point that I think might be overlooked in the few analysis I’ve seen is that Beau is an only child. As one myself, I can definitely relate to Beaus anxiety over disappointing your parent, with no one to share that emotion with. It’s also interesting to think that Toni is also an only child after the death of her brother.

I really don’t want to have children, no matter how much I try I see so much of my parents in myself. I don’t want my children to go through anything that I did and I feel like it’s unavoidable. I can avoid it all together if I don’t have kids. This is a great analysis by the way, so much better than all the other ones who make it about themselves. I feel like you see this movie for what it is and not what you want it to be.

The trial reminded me so much of the trial at the end of Pink Floyd's the wall. And the whole film was an act of the song Mother of the same album

I think this is the best breakdown I’ve seen so far of this movie

Wait… this is the best Beau Is Afraid analysis on here. Seriously, thank you for covering this film. It’s not an easy one to cover. Subbed!

“Beau was afraid, but only because Mona was terrified.” CHILLS. Probably the best video about Beau is Afraid

Ari Aster watching this and thinking, "Damn, he really got me."

First of all, this was a fantastic overview and unpacking of the film. Second of all, I saw Beau is Afraid with closed captions on at a nearby theater and in the opening scene of Beau's birth Mona says "you made me have him!". I think that his father is alive and perhaps pressured or coerced Mona into motherhood, resulting in all the resentment both of Beau and his father that we see from Mona during the film, as well as her desperation to contain/repress Beau's sexuality/masculinity.

I'm so glad there's people like you who dig deep into this movie that is heavily misunderstood. I could talk about this movie for hours on end I think it's incredibly well made! Such a good analysis!! Amazing work!! :)

the first hour of the film is my fav, the absolute chaos, the overwhelming amount of tiny details to look for in every frame- the fucking insanity of the ppl on the street - i want to live there, id also be so full of anxiety but i still wanna

I was completely aware that this movie is gonna be a journey and that I won't understand a single thing, but I still watched it so then I can see how capable people are to interpret movie by noticing small details, it always blow my mind. There's just so much chaos in that movie and this analysis just put everything together.

I went through this breakdown wondering how I hadn't found this channel earlier, and was totally shocked that it was only your fifth video. This is a brilliant analysis, from writing to editing. Needless to say you've got another subscriber, and I genuinely hope you see the kind of growth in viewership work like this deserves.