Midsommar (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
In the mood for a dread-inducing, perversely funny, existential horror film this summer season? I offer up 'Midsommar' (directed by Ari Aster, of last year's Hereditary). The story revolves around Dani (Florence Pugh, ubiquitous lately), who is traumatized after learning that her bi-polar sister murdered their parents & simultaneously committed suicide. For 4 yrs., Dani has been in a rocky relationship with self-absorbed Christian (Jack Reynor). He's even looking to break-up, but isn't willing to do so in the wake of what has just happened to her. When Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), a pal of Christian's, offers them a chance to visit the remote Swedish commune where he grew up during a once-per-century midsummer festival, they head off with fellow college anthropologists Mark & Joshua (Will Poulter, William Jackson Harper) to the seemingly idyllic village of Harga.
The village consists of plain wood buildings, mysterious runic symbols, an ancient alphabet {stitched into the inhabitants' costumes} & elaborate feast arrangements. Under the leadership of matriarch Siv (Gunnel Fred), everyone in Harga divides life into four divisions: childhood (age 0-18), pilgrimage (18-36), working (36-54) & elderhood (54-72 ... but what happens after 72; you might ask). The festival seems enchanting, at first {drugs & music abound}. Everyone is cheery & welcoming {aided by copious use of hallucinogens}. But soon enough, foreign visitors start disappearing. Horrific bizarrities occur {like a grisly sacrifice ritual} -- all in disorienting daylight, as the Midnight Sun consumes northern Sweden in summer. And after a drugged-up Dani is crowned May Day Queen ... she is forced to make a dreadful choice on the festivity's final day.
Knowing that this film unfolds with a languorous pace & spans 146 minutes, I entered 'Midsommar' trepidatiously. Luckily, I found most of the proceedings engrossing & hypnotic enough to thwart pangs of boredom -- just when a shot seemed to go on too long or seem meaningless, a great moment or scene would soon follow. Set in broad daylight {which, somehow, made everything creepier}, 'Midsommar' excels at the slow, methodical revelation of horrors that this community relishes. Writer/director Ari Aster goes beyond jump scares, grisly sights {and there are quite a few} & moody atmospheres into something deeper. This film, clearly reminds one of 1973's The Wicker Man, but is even more complex & enticingly perplexing.
The characters from America are flawed, but human, & have traits that draw empathy. That said - and this is scary - the communes' thought processes about life {and its cyclical nature} actually contain some intrinsic logic. Still, that they're clad in white flowery gowns & are adorned in crowns of leaves make their murderous actions all the more unsettling. We watch them sing-&-dance {to the beat of their own drum}, cook, clean & carry-out daily life quite normally. But their appearance of normality is SO out in the open, that when they perform their horrors in daylight & right in front of everyone, it's uncanny, and almost impossible for our protagonists to figure out if what's happening is reality or drug-addled.
British actress Florence Pugh - having already proven herself in Lady Macbeth, Outlaw King & Fighting with My Family - is an emotive actress and, her Dani is put through the wringer. Her portrayal of gut-wailing anxiety & panic-stricken PTSD is staggering. I felt her pain; even when she desperately tried to mask it. And it's a testament to her performance that, despite what she does in the final reel, we still kind of sympathize with her {leave one toxic relationship for another, perhaps}. Will Poulter provides comic relief as sex-crazed Mark. And though his role is more simplistic, Jack Reynor leaves it ALL hanging {quite literally} as Christian. Really, everyone in the cast was pitch-perfect for what they had to do.
Visually & sonically, 'Midsommar' bewitches, as well. Pawel Pogorzelski engulfs us in a bright pastel nightmare world. Production designer Henrik Svensson lends mercurial unease to the spare village of Harga. Some brilliant CGI are used to make us feel trippy. Fantastic make-up is used for bodily mashings, dismemberments & bowl-letting images. And the sound design varied from crisp to muted for perfect effect given the moment. Though I didn't love the ending, I don't know what other ending could've fully satisfied; and it's better than the batsh*t crazy finale of Aster's Hereditary. Though I was never scared, 'Midsommar' tells a peculiar & unnerving tale that cleverly plays with us through in its hellish sequences. Despite its ludicrous nature, I enjoyed its darkly comedic sex scenes, creepy wall paintings, "breathing" trees {see it to believe it}, & vigorous call for vengeance.
The village consists of plain wood buildings, mysterious runic symbols, an ancient alphabet {stitched into the inhabitants' costumes} & elaborate feast arrangements. Under the leadership of matriarch Siv (Gunnel Fred), everyone in Harga divides life into four divisions: childhood (age 0-18), pilgrimage (18-36), working (36-54) & elderhood (54-72 ... but what happens after 72; you might ask). The festival seems enchanting, at first {drugs & music abound}. Everyone is cheery & welcoming {aided by copious use of hallucinogens}. But soon enough, foreign visitors start disappearing. Horrific bizarrities occur {like a grisly sacrifice ritual} -- all in disorienting daylight, as the Midnight Sun consumes northern Sweden in summer. And after a drugged-up Dani is crowned May Day Queen ... she is forced to make a dreadful choice on the festivity's final day.
Knowing that this film unfolds with a languorous pace & spans 146 minutes, I entered 'Midsommar' trepidatiously. Luckily, I found most of the proceedings engrossing & hypnotic enough to thwart pangs of boredom -- just when a shot seemed to go on too long or seem meaningless, a great moment or scene would soon follow. Set in broad daylight {which, somehow, made everything creepier}, 'Midsommar' excels at the slow, methodical revelation of horrors that this community relishes. Writer/director Ari Aster goes beyond jump scares, grisly sights {and there are quite a few} & moody atmospheres into something deeper. This film, clearly reminds one of 1973's The Wicker Man, but is even more complex & enticingly perplexing.
The characters from America are flawed, but human, & have traits that draw empathy. That said - and this is scary - the communes' thought processes about life {and its cyclical nature} actually contain some intrinsic logic. Still, that they're clad in white flowery gowns & are adorned in crowns of leaves make their murderous actions all the more unsettling. We watch them sing-&-dance {to the beat of their own drum}, cook, clean & carry-out daily life quite normally. But their appearance of normality is SO out in the open, that when they perform their horrors in daylight & right in front of everyone, it's uncanny, and almost impossible for our protagonists to figure out if what's happening is reality or drug-addled.
British actress Florence Pugh - having already proven herself in Lady Macbeth, Outlaw King & Fighting with My Family - is an emotive actress and, her Dani is put through the wringer. Her portrayal of gut-wailing anxiety & panic-stricken PTSD is staggering. I felt her pain; even when she desperately tried to mask it. And it's a testament to her performance that, despite what she does in the final reel, we still kind of sympathize with her {leave one toxic relationship for another, perhaps}. Will Poulter provides comic relief as sex-crazed Mark. And though his role is more simplistic, Jack Reynor leaves it ALL hanging {quite literally} as Christian. Really, everyone in the cast was pitch-perfect for what they had to do.
Visually & sonically, 'Midsommar' bewitches, as well. Pawel Pogorzelski engulfs us in a bright pastel nightmare world. Production designer Henrik Svensson lends mercurial unease to the spare village of Harga. Some brilliant CGI are used to make us feel trippy. Fantastic make-up is used for bodily mashings, dismemberments & bowl-letting images. And the sound design varied from crisp to muted for perfect effect given the moment. Though I didn't love the ending, I don't know what other ending could've fully satisfied; and it's better than the batsh*t crazy finale of Aster's Hereditary. Though I was never scared, 'Midsommar' tells a peculiar & unnerving tale that cleverly plays with us through in its hellish sequences. Despite its ludicrous nature, I enjoyed its darkly comedic sex scenes, creepy wall paintings, "breathing" trees {see it to believe it}, & vigorous call for vengeance.