Watch Joaquin Phoenix Make a Run for It in ‘Beau Is Afraid’

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In this early sequence from the awful comedy “Beau Is Afraid,” the body is full of so many gags and references that’s it’s not possible to take all of them in.

But for the movie’s author and director, Ari Aster, that’s the purpose.

This second, which has Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) strolling, then in the end working, by means of his neighborhood, employs a method referred to as “chicken fat.” In an interview, Aster mentioned that he discovered of the time period whereas making the movie. Coined by the cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman in reference to the work of the illustrator Will Elder, it entails layering the background with as many visible jokes as doable. Here, that features indicators, graffiti, props and extra.

The philosophy behind the approach isn’t that every little thing must be seen, however “that the audience gets the sense of all the detail,” Aster mentioned. “And I think that encourages an even deeper engagement because you see the amount of work that’s gone into building this world.”

The scene is also packed with background players. Aster said that each one was ”given very particular directives and really particular conduct.” As they pop up in subsequent scenes, they proceed to exhibit the identical behaviors.

The sequence closes out with Beau sprinting down the street to make it to the front door of his building before being caught by his tattooed nemesis.

Aster said that Phoenix “was only able to do this a few times because he hurt his ankle pretty early on. And by the time we were done shooting, he was limping around.”

Read the “Beau Is Afraid” review.

Read a story about a Mariah Carey song that appears in the film.

Read an interview with Ari Aster.