Just got back from the theater. I wanted to like this so much, but I did not. Neither did my 17-yo son, fwiw. We both loved Hereditary and Midsommer, and while I wouldn't say the same for Beau is Afraid, it still had a distinct fantasy element that made it clear you were watching something not quite real. This movie, though, isn't sure what it wants to be.
At the Alamo pre-show, they showed part of a podcast discussion between Ari Aster and Bill Hader, and Aster mentioned how he had been wanting to make a modern western for several years before Hereditary, but he got bored with it and knew it was missing something, so he put it aside. COVID and the political stuff seem almost ancillary to the story, like a McGuffin, and as we went through the movie I kept thinking that the conflict between the sheriff and mayor and protestors could've been over anything. It seems like Aster just wanted to make this modern western, and COVID gave him the hook that he could use to sell it. More spoiler-y stuff below.
Very curious what you all think.