MIDSOMMAR (2019)

Written & Directed By: Ari Aster 
Cinematography By: Pawel Pogorzelski 
Editor: Lucian Johntson 


Cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Will Poulter, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, Ellora Torchia 

Dani and Christian are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, a grieving Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer holiday in a land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the insular villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing.
The film has beautiful composed shots. This film offers plenty of shocks. But luckily never tries to go for shock scares. There is grotesque violence that goes by quickly. Though never seems malicious except to show early what the citizens might be capable of.

The film will make you think afterwards it might haunt you in a way where you keep analyzing it. 

What is more shocking is the fact that the film makes the male protagonist so unlikeable as he is emotionally Distant and seems kind of selfish even amongst his friends. While our sympathy more goes to his girlfriend who suffers a loss early in the film and as a result becomes virtually emotionally all alone as others offer sympathy but not really being there for her and helping to support.

You usually know where the film is going as you can literally se the writing on the wall. As the movie moves along and see where it is going.

The film has the characters use psychadelics as part of the celebration even as it might more help explain to the audience why they would stay and explain for us why these weird activities are strange but we come to have a certain comfort.

By the end it might remind the audience of The movie US where the female lead is great throughout even as the films seem more like an ensemble at first and they are both full of ideas even if by the end they might not be fully supported enough by explanation. They are conversation starters and original films worthy of study even if not entirely successful in what they seek and leave plenty of questions. 

Though many will compare it to THE WICKER MAN. There is a pagan festival at heart and goes it o detail about it. Though the film is also about the evolution of a break up. Where the female has a revenge fantasy and the ultimate support.

The writing is literally on the walls. As the film tells you what will happen in more subtle ways. Obviously not in detail but the gist of it will become clear if you pay attention.

What is strong about the movie is that in telling you. It more or less comes clean and still seduces you. As you watch to see what will happen it fascinates you by bringing it into a foreign culture and exposing the horrors in daylight that usually happen at night in the dark that are easier to hide. Happening in daylight takes when you are supposed to feel Safe and exposing to you that you are always vulnerable no matter when.

Either way like his previous film the third act is where it becomes grand and truly crazy. Though like hereditary it feels like it belongs and is what it has been building towards it just still seems so outrageous that it feels shocking.

The film throws a curveball where you believe the beginning will tie completely into the rest of the films plot, but it doesn’t really except to give the lead female character a drama and weakness to deal with as well as a reason to go on the trip.

What also helps the film is that it is brave enough to not make the characters necessarily likeable. We don’t want to see them die but don’t know if you would want them as your friend either.

It shows the deceitful nature of human behavior. It also shows that literally sacrifices must be made to keep the natural flow of life going. For there to be birth somethings might have to perish to make room.

This film just as the recent release US. Are films that are brimming with originality and ideas. Though the slight problems they leave are too many questions. Not in a ambiguous it’s up to the audience intellectually, but rather basic ones that might help or weren’t followed through enough in the film. Yet come off assured. They are also both polarizing films that seem like you are either going to like or hate them. Unless one is to believe it was destined for her to be the May queen and drift to that society and their gods saw to it by destroying her family so that she was open to the new one. 

The film sets firmly it’s message about family and co-dependency by having this group in support and turn in each other while the one who wasn’t supposed to come and depends on her boyfriend for emotional support that he seems inadequate to give. She is taken in by these people who show nothing but understanding and love to her.

So that by the end the film Could also easily be seen as a kind of revenge film.

Grade: B