Midsommar focuses on Dani, played by Florence Pugh, an anxiety-riddled college student who, after being severely traumatized by a tragic event, goes on a trip to Sweden with her emotionally distant boyfriend, played by Jack Reynor, along with his friends Josh, Pelle, and Mark, played by William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, and Will Poulter, respectively. Pelle takes them to his family’s community, where they take part in the midsummer solstice celebration, which occurs once every ninety years. While the community seems friendly at first, a series of strange events cause them to unveil their true colors and reveal something much more sinister.
This is the second film from director Ari Aster, after last year’s Hereditary, the former of which dealt heavily with the terms of grief and family drama. Midsommar also touches upon similar themes, in a fairly brutal sequence that occurs before the opening credits. The film’s first twenty minutes are built heavily off this opening event and act as a catalyst to help get Dani from the United States to Sweden. What’s disappointing is that while Hereditary dove much deeper into the themes it brought up, Midsommar drops this theme not too long into the movie, outside of a few brief moments here and there, which begs the question of why even get so invested in some of this material in the first place.
Instead, the film shifts gears to focus heavily on the rituals and traditions of the townsfolk in Sweden, which gives way to some beautifully shot sequences. If there’s one thing that Ari Aster did well in Hereditary that he doubles down on in this film, it’s the cinematography and direction. In terms of film technique, this is easily one of the top films of the year that any film student or aspiring filmmaker should watch. The colors of countryside Sweden are absolutely gorgeous and nearly every frame pops out with some standout image. The film also does a great job with seamless transitions, with scenes such as characters opening the door in one scene before cutting to a new scene that begins with a door being opened, picking up right where the last scene left off.
In terms of story, however, this film tends to wander and take its time, instead investing more of its time in its imagery than anything else. This is a movie that breathes a lot. Clocking in at two hours and twenty-seven minutes, this takes its time immensely. Characters are seen soaking in their surroundings, with lingering shots of characters either high or lost in a daze as they may see something that throws them off. The film contains literally an hour of set up, spending a lot of time with Dani as well as the many supporting characters who will play a role later on. It’s not until this hour that the first major dramatic beat since the opening occurs. And even after that happens, it still takes its time moving on to the next big dramatic beat. This is very much a slow burn.
Though the time spent with each character is at least intriguing to watch, thanks to the fantastic job that nearly all of the actors do here. Florence Pugh once again knocks it out of the park, after her wonderful starring turn in this year’s Fighting with My Family. As opposed to the overly-confident Paige in that film, she plays someone who’s much more vulnerable and struggles with being much stronger-willed. While much of the sympathy towards her stems from the film’s otherwise unnecessary opening scene, she runs with the material well, and shows her apparent knack for handling horror material. There are plenty of scenes in which she has emotional breakdowns, but she never tows the line into hammy over-acting. Much of this film rests on her standout performance.
Jack Reynor also does a very good job as Christian, and the film does a great job at showcasing a relationship that isn’t so much bad because one or both parties aren’t good people. Rather, this is a relationship that simply doesn’t work due to where both characters are in their lives, and it simply isn’t good for either of them, given their current circumstances. And Reynor does a solid job at trying to be supportive of Dani yet still remain somewhat emotionally distant due to his previous feelings regarding her going into the movie. As far as the supporting cast goes, Blomgren is eventually moved more into a background role while Harper is likable, even if he essentially plays just a slightly more confident version of his character Chidi from the series that made him famous, The Good Place. Poulter is easily the most entertaining of the bunch, providing a bulk of comedic relief as a typical annoying American tourist, turning this into a much funnier film than expected.
Like Hereditary, which contains its fair share of gruesome images, Midsommar contains plenty of sequences that are not for the faint of heart. For diehard horror fans, they will relish in some of these moments, even if it’s a bit questionable whether or not they come off as excessive. Though certain sequences that involve extreme close-ups on some images that are quite frankly fairly disgusting may be a turn off for some. While at first, these moments are only sporadically seen throughout the film, they begin to ramp up as the film reaches its third act.
And this is where the film winds up being at its most divisive, as the story and characters seem to really be cast off to the side and the film becomes a series of horrifying, brutal images for about 30-45 minutes. If one thought anything seen beforehand was a bit too much, the majority of the final act borders on uncomfortable territory. While some may argue that these scenes are necessary as they’re meant to showcase the horrifying context of the situation at hand, these moments go on for way too long, and much of this could have been condensed into an easy fifteen minutes or so.
What’s especially frustrating is the fact that the film spends so much time on these excessively horrifying moments that the character development is completely disregarded. As the film goes for more style over substance, the audience begins to feel so emotionally distant from the characters as everyone gets lost with the scene at hand. Despite spending so much time spent with all of them in the hour and a half beforehand, by the end of the movie, it’s hard to truly care what has happened to any of them. In a way, it renders nearly the rest of the movie inert and makes the whole journey feel somewhat pointless.
Midsommar is a mixed bag. On a technical level, it’s absolutely fantastic, and alone makes this movie worth the watch. Ari Aster truly has a keen eye on what it takes to make a well-shot film and that couldn’t be more apparent with this movie. Plus, the film boasts an incredible lead performance from Florence Pugh, who has shown that she’s one of the best emerging talents in the business, along with some solid supporting performances from Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, and Will Poulter. Unfortunately, in terms of storytelling, this is pretty weak. The film is the definition of slow-burn storytelling, with an opening that has very little to do with the rest of the film. While it does have its fair share of moments that are intriguing to watch in its first two acts, it becomes extremely self-serving in its third act as it tosses its story and character development aside for some excessive, though beautifully filmed, horrifying imagery, which makes for an overall uneasy watch.
Recommendation: Proceed With Caution
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