Zo's Reviews: Midsommar

Welcome back! Welcome all! Poppa's back! He's ready for Fall! ...ok yeah, even I know that was pretty bad...let's...let's just get to the review...

MIDSOMMAR was directed by Ari Aster and is his follow-up to the critically acclaimed HEREDITARY. This time around, Aster has brought us a film that explores grief on a whole new 'WHAT THE F*CK' level. Sure, the things we saw in his previous effort were grotesque, they were depressing and dark, and we watched Toni Collette (seriously, the Oscars suck for snubbing her...) deal with loss and the supernatural in a way that I never thought could evoke such emotions in me as she could. But here we are...A new tale of dealing with grief, dealing with depression, sadness, loss, and picking yourself back up again, becoming empowered and gaining your strength to keep on, by eliminating the past and moving on. And for this tale of just...really creepy pagan ritualism, is our leading lady, Dani (played by Florence Pugh), and she's just been invited to Sweden by her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor) and his buddies Josh (William Jackson Harper), Mark (Will Poulter), and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren). But not is all as it seems for this group of college kids who go for a fabled mid-summer festival, expecting to learn about a new culture, and what begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult. And because this is an Ari Aster movie...you can bet your butts that it doesn't go well for our cast.

Let's start with something that has absolutely bothered me after seeing this film...the story goes from depressing and sad, to strange, to odd, to cliche territory...and this cliche territory is where it almost lost me. There are moments in the film where the story kills off characters in a way that is almost reminiscent of 80s slashers, it felt like people were getting knocked off for the sake of having a body count. While I'm okay with it if it makes sense, for me some of these deaths didn't really have much impact, even after the reveal for the reason why. It was like if any character did anything stupid, they would immediately be knocked off and that kind of cheapened the experience for me. The other thing that bugged me was Jack Reynor's performance as Christian. Christian is supposed to be a jerk of a boyfriend, neglecting his girlfriend, Dani, in her time of need. He's also supposed to be a dick to his friends, and while the character does do these things, being a giant douche the entire time, Jack Reynor doesn't look too comfortable in the role. He looked like a deer in headlights mostly throughout the film, especially in the first two acts. I'm not trying to take anything away from the young actor, he certainly tried to portray Christian to the best of his ability and I applaud his efforts, but it felt almost unbelievable for me. That being said, it wasn't all that terrible, and I'm really just nitpicking on things that bugged me.

As for the brilliance of this film? Everything about the themes Ari Aster brings to this film (which I'm convinced is the second part of a trilogy based on grief) is solid gold. Florence Pugh's portrayal of Dani, broken, depressed, sad after the tragic loss that happens at the very beginning of the film, definitely dredge up any repressed emotions you may have, and for that I must applaud the director. He's definitely got a talent for making us feel something. The cast is solid (even Jack Reynor). The use of colors and the way it was filmed definitely throw the viewers off, especially when the more messed up things start happening. Without ruining anything, there's definitely a WICKER MAN reference to this film that had me in stitches. Speaking of, Will Poulter brought a much needed comedic flair to the film, and it didn't feel overdone at all. Vilhelm Blomgren's performance as Pelle was absolutely mesmerizing, especially in scenes he shared with Florence Pugh. Seriously, they stole the show for me. The music, the visuals, the gory deaths (and there are a few), everything about this movie's aesthetic blew me away.

It really is a film that needs multiple viewings to really grasp the feeling and tone. The performances are overall incredible, the technical prowess of Ari Aster and his crew are incredible. It's just a couple of small things that for me almost ruined the film, but I'm not going to hold that against it. This movie deserves to be seen in a theater and with others around you, if for nothing else than to see their reactions.

FINAL SCORE: 8/10