Movie review
April 14, 2023 · 179 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
A surreal dark comedy follows mild-mannered but deeply anxious Beau on an epic, chaotic journey home after his mother's sudden death. He encounters bizarre dangers, guilt, and family secrets in a three-hour nightmarish odyssey packed with paranoia and absurd humor. The story stays locked on personal trauma, maternal control, and individual fears with no audience-visible identity politics, activist messaging, or social-justice framing.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Beau Is Afraid.
Woke representation / casting
Casting relies on established actors who fit the story's urban, middle-class, mostly white world without quotas, swaps, or visible diversity signaling.
Woke political dialogue
No political speeches, activist language, or social-justice talk appears; all dialogue drives personal anxiety and surreal events.
Identity-driven story themes
Themes revolve around individual guilt, maternal influence, and personal dread with no ties to race, gender identity, sexuality, or group politics.
Western institutional / cultural critique
No modern activist critique of institutions, patriarchy, or Western norms; satire targets one man's neuroses and absurd fears instead.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Original story with no ideological alterations to existing characters or source material.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No anti-woke or right-leaning complaints exist about identity politics or left-wing messaging; debate stayed on length and style.
Creator track record context
Ari Aster focuses on psychological horror with low public activism and no identity-driven pattern; supporting crew shows even lower or zero such history.
Production
