Bonus: We Have to Talk About the First BEAU IS AFRAID Poster.
Plus, the first BARBIE trailer has been released and I have...feelings.
Last week, the first poster for Ari Aster’s next film, Beau is Afraid, was unleashed on the Internet.
Ari Aster. You may have heard of him: the man who wrote and directed Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019) and, through the creation of these films, made an inadvertent admission to the world that he has some personal demons to work out (I actually happen to like both Hereditary and Midsommar, and thus may be making some unfortunate admissions of my own).
His upcoming film, which is supposedly a “horror comedy” (a combination I do not like the sound of, knowing Aster), stars Joaquin Phoenix and will be released next year. As a fun and goofy Christmas gift to us all, the first poster for this film has been released:
Let’s talk about all the reasons I hate this poster:
Who is this meant to be? Is it supposed to be a likeness of Joaquin Phoenix as a child? Because I am confused, I dislike it.
What hellish AI art generator made this uncanny Phoenix boy? And why is he in silk pajamas?
I hate that I cannot tell if this is a painting or purposefully unsettling CGI. Like, I really cannot tell. And that makes me feel a little icky. Also, dumb.
Look, if Beau is Afraid contains even an ounce of the horrifying gravitas of Hereditary, I will be shooketh for years after its release. Seriously, when I first saw Hereditary, I felt like my theater seat had opened up beneath me and dropped me to the cement floor below. It was both deeply unpleasant and thrilling.
Plus: The teaser trailer for Barbie has been released.
Because Barbie is directed by Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women), it will probably be good. We can assume that. Gerwig has proven herself to be an apt director, even if she did okay the casting of 20-something Florence Pugh as 12-year-old Amy in Little Women.
While I don’t totally jive with the Kubrick references in the teaser trailer, I can appreciate that Gerwig is trying to elevate a film about a children’s doll with historically large breasts and breathy voice. So, good for her. Why a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey felt like the right choice is still a bit of a mystery, but hey, so was 2001: A Space Odyssey.
You can watch the trailer here.
This will be my last newsletter until 2023!
Thank you so much to those of you who have already subscribed - it is such a great feeling to share my love of film (and hopefully provide some good suggestions along the way, though you may never forgive me for subjecting you to the Beau is Afraid poster).