Joaquin Phoenix's psychologically intense performance portraying a minimized hero's journey to reunite with his mother, creates a towering Citizen Kane for the forgotten everyman
Thank you, Ray!! And you are so welcome! So happy to hear my review has had an impact on your movie-going decisions. I'm very gratified to hear that. Yes, the time is considerable, but I did not feel it dragged or didn't earn its time. It's a bold vision that is uncompromising. Besides, I think you will most definitely enjoy so much of its bold theatricality, not only in the staging elements but also in the performance work, especially from Patti LuPone in the fourth stage when Beau finally confronts his mother.
Ari Aster has a genius for letting moments play in real-time, letting the audience sit inside a moment. This is unique. He doesn't use cutting to accelerate emotional moments. He sits inside of them. I think this is why there is divisiveness around this film. Because the moments he makes us sit inside of are not always comfortable, thus they are potentially triggering to those who feel discomfort in them. And veering away from the distraction of genre gimmicks forces viewers to confront relationships and emotions head-on. We are forced to see people for who they are. And that is not always pretty or comforting. But it is very real and impactful, and in this case, wildly entertaining as well.
fascinating to read this, I've read so many mixed reviews about how it's this 3 hour long, nightmare-scape, arthouse mess. I haven't seen it, but I'd love to after reading this
Bella, thank you so much for your comment, and for reading my review. I'm so gratified to hear my review has encouraged you to seek out this film. I think you will find much to love about this film. For me, the fact that Aster can write a three-hour epic about an anxiety-ridden man whose hero's journey is to visit his mother is the very definition of chutzpah. The fact that he makes it exceed in every way is wild and a cause to be celebrated. As one of my commenters on YouTube said succinctly, "This is cinema!" I couldn't agree more.
In battling his own anxieties to just leave his besieged apartment, let alone travel to another state to visit his capitalist titan of a mother, whom he lives off of, Aster creates and accomplishes one of the most daring film premises that comes to mind with wild and imaginative execution. The fact that Ari Aster can make a visually spell-binding IMAX-worthy movie out of that premise and fill a three-hour run time with a movie that isn't "Ben-Hur" (i.e. spectacle, one of the first in 1959 at 212 mins minus intermissions and overtures, and they didn't have comfy reclining seats) is a feat of such epic proportions it has to be admired for its stunning achievement regardless of how it resonates with you.
I did not find it to be an arthouse mess by any stretch of the imagination. That's a definition I would loosely apply to Chazelle's "Babylon." This is consummate filmmaking from a very assured and confident director, guiding one of the greatest actors of his generation through a moving, endless captivating, and heart-wrenching performance. Anyone with an ounce of experience with acting can surely tell the vast commitment Phoenix has to summon to essay this role. And the fact that Aster is there to support him in the most artful and engaging ways is a further testament to his assured vision. I hope you get it in. And I look forward to reading your take on it.
Wasn’t going to see this film. Time and premise??? BUT your insightful, thorough, review has changed my mind. Thank you Malcolm.
Thank you, Ray!! And you are so welcome! So happy to hear my review has had an impact on your movie-going decisions. I'm very gratified to hear that. Yes, the time is considerable, but I did not feel it dragged or didn't earn its time. It's a bold vision that is uncompromising. Besides, I think you will most definitely enjoy so much of its bold theatricality, not only in the staging elements but also in the performance work, especially from Patti LuPone in the fourth stage when Beau finally confronts his mother.
Ari Aster has a genius for letting moments play in real-time, letting the audience sit inside a moment. This is unique. He doesn't use cutting to accelerate emotional moments. He sits inside of them. I think this is why there is divisiveness around this film. Because the moments he makes us sit inside of are not always comfortable, thus they are potentially triggering to those who feel discomfort in them. And veering away from the distraction of genre gimmicks forces viewers to confront relationships and emotions head-on. We are forced to see people for who they are. And that is not always pretty or comforting. But it is very real and impactful, and in this case, wildly entertaining as well.
fascinating to read this, I've read so many mixed reviews about how it's this 3 hour long, nightmare-scape, arthouse mess. I haven't seen it, but I'd love to after reading this
Bella, thank you so much for your comment, and for reading my review. I'm so gratified to hear my review has encouraged you to seek out this film. I think you will find much to love about this film. For me, the fact that Aster can write a three-hour epic about an anxiety-ridden man whose hero's journey is to visit his mother is the very definition of chutzpah. The fact that he makes it exceed in every way is wild and a cause to be celebrated. As one of my commenters on YouTube said succinctly, "This is cinema!" I couldn't agree more.
In battling his own anxieties to just leave his besieged apartment, let alone travel to another state to visit his capitalist titan of a mother, whom he lives off of, Aster creates and accomplishes one of the most daring film premises that comes to mind with wild and imaginative execution. The fact that Ari Aster can make a visually spell-binding IMAX-worthy movie out of that premise and fill a three-hour run time with a movie that isn't "Ben-Hur" (i.e. spectacle, one of the first in 1959 at 212 mins minus intermissions and overtures, and they didn't have comfy reclining seats) is a feat of such epic proportions it has to be admired for its stunning achievement regardless of how it resonates with you.
I did not find it to be an arthouse mess by any stretch of the imagination. That's a definition I would loosely apply to Chazelle's "Babylon." This is consummate filmmaking from a very assured and confident director, guiding one of the greatest actors of his generation through a moving, endless captivating, and heart-wrenching performance. Anyone with an ounce of experience with acting can surely tell the vast commitment Phoenix has to summon to essay this role. And the fact that Aster is there to support him in the most artful and engaging ways is a further testament to his assured vision. I hope you get it in. And I look forward to reading your take on it.