Ari Aster's second film (after the gutwrenching Hereditary) ventures into Wicker Man territory with a nasty but guiltily pleasurable folk horror.
Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian's (Jack Reynor) relationship is foundering, but- just as Christian gets the nerve to end it- Dani suffers a horrific family tragedy. Lost and grieving, Dani goes with Christian and two of his friends- Josh (William Jackson Harper) and Mark (Will Poulter)- to Sweden, along with their friend Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) for his home village's once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival. But what should be a summer of fun soon descends into a nightmare as the festivities reveal a darker motive...
This isn't a traditional horror movie. There are several shocking moments of gore and intense violence, but if you're looking for a more jump-scary film, this might not be for you. The film is also slow, deliberate, and takes a long time to get going (which sounds like a criticism, but it isn't). We spend a long time with the characters before they get transplanted into Sweden, which is good- it establishes the characters effectively so, when they do get to Pelle's village and things really start to kick off, the audience has got a sense of who they are and- more crucially- what they may do.
Florence Pugh's performance is visceral, authentic, and intense. She bears the emotional heavy lifting of the piece, if you will, and is utterly compelling. As tragedy piles on tragedy, she is undoubtedly the one character you're meant to root for and her emotional arc (whilst somewhat predictable) is still satisfying. By the utterly batshit bonkers finale (which again, sounds like a criticism but isn't), Dani isn't the same girl who entered the village at the start and you can't help but have a little twinge of pleasure seeing her change. I believe the word I'm looking for is schadenfreude...
Christian could easily have just come across as an unfeeling douchebag, so it's to Reynor's credit that the character isn't just an absolute tool (which could easily have been the case). True, he's emotionally distant and there are times you wonder how the hell this relationship ever got as far as it did (it's telling that there's no scenes of intimacy between the two; not even a kiss). But in a hamfisted and desultory way, he's trying to be there for Dani. It's just not enough. Again, there's a perverse kind of pleasure seeing what happens to Christian: even if it does involve one of the most bizarre and- frankly- unerotic sex scenes I've seen in a while.
Will Poulter plays Mark as an abrasive asshole who totally disrespects the village, and does it well; such is the performance that you're just waiting for Mark to get his comeuppance (which, of course, does come). If you're used to seeing William Jackson Harper as the nervy Chidi in the frankly brilliant The Good Place, you'll see a different side to him here: Josh is much more laidback, although even he can't resist crossing some lines (for which he duly pays the price). Blomgren's nice-guy Pelle is a lovely contrast to the Americans and never comes off as creepy or deranged. He also seems to genuinely care for Dani, although there's never a hint of impropriety. Whilst the outsiders see barbarity in the festival, he sees it as natural, what they do. There's also some strong performances by Henrik Norlén and Gunnel Fred as village elders Ulf and Siv, who lead the festivities.
The cinematography by Pawel Pogorzelski is sublime. The village and its environs look beautiful and it's interesting to have events that (in traditional horror) would take place in dark places out in the bright sunshine. The script also does something that I like; when the villagers are speaking Swedish to one another, it's not subtitled. We, like the outside characters, are left to intuit what's being said.
I think I've said more than once on the blog that The Wicker Man (1973) is one of my favourite films, and there's a definite vibe of that film in Midsommar. Outsiders to an otherwise insular community who have their own ways of doing things which seem unusual to those not from there, charismatic leaders, seductive maidens, and a striking ending where things go up in flames... but Midsommar has a style of its own and isn't just a pale rip-off of a superior film. Yes, there are moments where the plot gets predictable but that doesn't really matter as the performances carry those moments.
A cerebral and visceral horror film, perfect for Halloween.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tez
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