Midsommar

Risky arthouse filmmakers are an interesting bunch to observe in regards to their respective careers. A rather common trend with their bizarre works is how the studios tend to have misleading advertisements to hide the choices and directions that are likely to cause a polarizing response. One crafter of such work is Ari Aster, who started off his career with a 29 minute short film, The Strange Thing About the Johnsons, followed by a handful of other tiny projects, and a horror feature debut, Hereditary, which I reviewed last year. From what I've seen of them, it's easy to see he has the talent and risky ideas that are fascinating to look at. However, similar to Jordan Peele, he needs to grow and improve those skills for the next projects, which brings us to his latest movie that he wrote and directed, Midsommar. I was very curious about how he would change with his big screen ventures, considering how divisive his previous film was. I entered the auditorium prepared for whatever weirdness Aster had done and left it somewhat impressed but recognized rooms for improvement he needs to work on.

Ari Aster’s description of Midsommar: “I wrote Midsommar while I was going through a breakup, 4 years ago. Now it’s a movie. This is, down to the last detail, exactly what happened.” 

What's it about? The story follows a couple with a rocky relationship that goes with the boyfriends buddies to a odd festival in Sweden where strange events are afoot. One thing that should be noted that makes this a unique horror flick is how most of the movie takes place out in the bright sunny outdoors instead of the usual dark indoors shadows, which makes it feel like everything is out in the open. Speaking of which, the romantic relationship being shown actually feels very authentic and realistic for the internal struggle both of them are going through. The way they discuss about how they feel about certain situations and how awkward they approach it is very watchable, making it the best part of the story. One more thing to clear up is that this isn’t a standard film in the genre but more of an trippy experience that has some humor mixed in there (both intentional and unintentional) that’s absent of any boring jump scares.

However there are weaknesses in the writing that can’t be ignored and hold it back from reaching its potential. There are some minor plot threads introduced for tension between two friends that’s never really explored or followed through. That big problem lies in how the payoff in the final 30 minutes just crashes and burns by the director’s tendency to get overindulgent with what he’s trying to convey. It reminds me of why I couldn’t be in love with Hereditary because of the similar problem. It should also be noted that it suffers from some pacing issues where some scenes are stretched out so much it make the runtime longer than it should have been.

How's Florence Pugh? In regards to our lead, Florence’s performance is a great strength that entices much investment in the story. Her range in alternating between dealing with grief and the fragile nature of her relationship is excellent to watch. Another actor to share with that praise is Jack Reynor in how he interacts with Pugh for creating such an interesting bond to where both are unsure in how to get out of their shaky bond. An honorable mention goes to Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) for giving a performance that feels unique out of the side character they actually do something with.

How trippy is it? One strength that can’t be denied is the beautiful cinematography that feels slightly better than Hereditary (both great in that area). The manner in how certain scenes are shot with the outdoors is a sight to see. In fact, there are parts characters takes drugs to relax and the hallucinations that take place throughout are indeed trippy to watch.

Overall Consensus: Midsommar is a fascinating experience with great leading performances, wonderful cinematography, and an interesting relationship dynamic but suffers from overindulgence and the ending lacking payoff. ⭑⭑⭑1/2💻 Runtime: 2 hours 30 minutes R

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors. You have seen Hereditary and are curious about the directors next work. You want to see beautiful camera shots surrounding outdoor nature environment. You don't mind shock value gore and nudity. You are interested in risky arthouse independent features.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors. You have seen Hereditary and aren't curious about the directors next work. You are sensitive to shock value gore and nudity. You aren't interested in risky arthouse independent features. You aren't interested in indulgent arthouse horror that is way too long for its own good.