At first glance, Ari Aster’sBeau is Afraidand David Lowery’sThe Green Knightcould not be any more different.Beauis a three-hour psychological horror comedy (Aster describes it as a “bonkers nightmare comedy"). Meanwhile,The Green Knightis meditative and slow; a fantastical medieval tone poem that feels ripped directly from the ancient fable upon which it’s based. It would appear the onlycommonality between them is A24, who financed and distributed both movies.
But look past their exteriors, and you’ll discover these two films are cut from the same twisty, surreal cloth. Let’s dive in and explore the similarities between these two fascinating movies.
A word of warning: this article does contain spoilers for both movies. Proceed with caution.
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Death Awaits Them
The unrelenting specter of death hangs heavy over both movies; it motivates the characters and drives the story forward.
The Green Knightstars Dev Patelas Gawain, the nephew of the famed King Arthur and member of his round table. Gawain is comfortable in his lavish life, drunk on the comforts that his nobility grants him. On Christmas Day, the mysterious Green Knight - a hulking, otherworldly figure - appears before King Arthur’s Court and challenges the presiding knights: any man who lands a blow on him will win his mystical green axe. However, there’s a catch: in one year hence, the challenger must travel to the Green Chapel and receive an equal blow in return.
Gawain, inflated by hubris and his desire to become a knight, accepts the challenge. The Green Knight yields and Gawain, armed with Arthur’s sword, decapitates the otherworldly visitor. The headless knight stands, retrieves his severed head, and repeats the rules of the challenge to Gawain: in one year, he must seek out the Green Knight and receive an equal blow, which for the mortal Gawain, means certain death.
InBeau is Afraid, death - or at least the threat of it - is all-encompassing. At the center of the film is Beau Wasserman (Joaquin Phoenix), an anxiety-riddled and deeply-paranoid sad-sack with mommy issues, who lives in a world overrun by senseless violence and chaos. Psychotic vagrants, trigger-happy officers, brown recluse spiders; everything and anything is a threat to Beau’s life.
When our mild-mannered hero unceremoniously discovers that his overbearing and narcissistic mother Mona - the only other person in Beau’s life - has been decapitated in a freak chandelier accident, he must confront the overwhelming horrors of his world and embark on an epic, Homer-esque odyssey to make it back home for the funeral.
A Surreal Journey
Unlike most movies, which have a three-act framework (or some variation of it),BeauandThe Green Knightare structured more like books than they are films. Each “chapter” contains its own unique obstacle that challenges our heroes on their journeys. While some of these hurdles are literal, most operate in a surreal and philosophical plane.
InThe Green Knight, Gawain is pressured by his uncle to hold up his end of the challenge, and so he sets out on a journey that - as far as he is concerned - will end in his death. Along the way he faces a number of challenges that put his honor, courage, empathy, and loyalty to the test. He encounters a band of thieves that rob him of his weapons and defenses; a ghostly woman who seeks to be reunited with her body; and a Lord with a very particular and strange request.
Similarly, Beau Wasserman faces a number of seemingly insurmountable challenges on his journey back home;director Ari Aster describesthese sequences as “worlds.” The film opens in the crime-infested city in which Beau lives, before moving to a picturesque suburban home owned by a family that has gone to great lengths to suppress their gnawing grief and pain. From there Beau finds his way deep in the forest, which hosts a traveling theater troupe that offers him a brief respite from the horrors of the world before it all comes crumbling down. And finally, Beau makes it back to his mother’s home, where the filmreaches sublimely surreal (and horrific) new heights.
A Life That Could Have Been
During their journeys, both Gawain and Beau are offered a glimpse into a life that could’ve been.
When Gawain finally makes it to the Green Chapel, he’s overcome with fear of his impending doom (as any rational person would be). Rather than face death, Gawain decides to flee. What follows is a glimpse into his future; one ruined by his dishonesty and lack of courage. Despite inheriting the throne from his uncle, he becomes a reviled and unloved king. He abandons the mother of his child - who is a commoner - for a loveless marriage to noble woman. His only son perishes in war, and Gawain becomes disaffected and filled with hate. When the kingdom is besieged by enemies, his family and advisors abandon him, and Gawain dies alone, leaving behind a tattered legacy.
But then Gawain snaps back to reality; we realize that this was a vision of his future should he back out of the challenge. And so, with the knowledge that death is better than an unearned life, Gawain returns to the Green Chapel and accepts his fate.
Likewise, when Beau stumbles upon the traveling theater troupe in the forest, he is granted a seat in the audience for an upcoming performance. As Beau becomes engrossed in the show, we are transported to a fantasy world (breathtakingly animatedby Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León,the directors behindThe Wolf House) where Beau is given a taste of a life that could’ve been had Mona Wasserman never been his mother. He envisions a world where he meets a lovely woman and has three children with her - all boys. But a great flood separates him from his kin, and for decades he travels far and wide in search of them. Eventually, he is tearfully reunited with them.
It says a lot that even in this hopeful fantasy, Beau’s life is marked by tragedy and grief. But it’s those moments of happiness - the time he spends with his wife and children; the joy of being a father - that he cherishes; in such a horrific world, it’s the only peace he can find.
Speaking of mothers, both films feature a prominent matriarch that - much like death - leaves a resounding impression on our heroes.
InThe Green Knight, it is revealed that Gawain’s mother had performed a magical rite that summoned the titular Green Knight to the court. Her plan, although not explicitly stated but heavily implied, is to push Gawain out of his comfort zone and become an honorable man, for he must “acquire a story to tell” in order to become a true knight. Gawain’s mother, in essence, gave her son the opportunity to build his own legacy. And in that regard, he succeeded.
Whereby Gawain’s mother used her powers to build her son up, Beau’s mother wants to tear her son down. Upon arriving at his late mother’s home, Beau discovers an unsettling truth - that Mona’s death had all been a ruse; a heartless test to see if he really loved her. And in her eyes, Beau failed miserably. Try as he can to argue otherwise, Beau’s fate has already been sealed.
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Lessons Learned
Although both movies follow similar trajectories, Beau and Gawain do not share the same fates. Their journeys changed them for sure; one for the better, the other for the (much, much) worse.
Though faced with hardships and the threat of certain death, Gawain bravely pushed forward. As a reward for his courage, his life was spared. Beau, on the other hand, is not as lucky. Despite his best efforts. Beau fails his mother’s cruel test and perishes. In many ways, Beau was doomed from birth.
These are dense films,packed with symbolism and allegories. Both Ari Aster and David Lowery use their movies to explore similar themes, but at the end of the day,Beau is AfraidandThe Green Knightrevolve around one simple yet existential question: are we in control of our own destinies? It’s hard to know for sure, but depending on the type of person you are, the answer to that question may be found in one of these films.
