Writer/director Ari Aster previously helmed two pictures, and they managed to get under the skin of select viewers. With 2018’s “Hereditary” and 2019’s “Midsommer,” Aster pulled together tough and taxing studies of nervous breakdowns, showing a deep interest in the agony of psychological erosion while paying tribute to his favorite genre offerings, delivering disturbing efforts for those with the patience to remain invested in his somewhat meandering ways. He’s a specialized moviemaker for a specialized audience, and there’s rarely been a more specialized endeavor than “Beau is Afraid,” which is Aster’s first offering in four years and, quite possibly, could be his last for the foreseeable future. He’s making a journey here that’s tight with anxiety and loose with reality, asking for a three-hour-long commitment for material that goes everywhere and nowhere, coming across as a filmed adaptation of an Aster therapy session. It’s indulgent, but that’s the point. It’s also artful at times and unbearable, and that’s also the point. But it’s seldom meaningful, emerging as a feature only for Aster, who crafts quite the endurance test with “Beau is Afraid.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com