Midsommar Review
R: For disturbing ritualistic violence and grisly images, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language
Studio: A24
Run Time: 2 Hrs and 20 Minutes
Writer/Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, Archie Madekwe, Ellora Torchia, Will Poulter
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. From the visionary mind of Ari Aster comes a dread-soaked cinematic fairytale where a world of darkness unfolds in broad daylight.
Ari Aster is a strange, strange dude. Throughout his film career the acclaimed director has had a knack for two major things: the horror genre and the theme of relationships, often blending the two to form a creative narrative. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of Hereditary (and kind of think it’s overrated), I have got to admit that, as far as Midsommar goes:
The story is set on Dani, a young American college student who is in distress after a serious family tragedy. In her time of grieving she inserts herself into her aimless and absent-minded boyfriend Christian’s European trip to a rural Swedish town with his friends, all going for their own personal desires. They seem to find themselves in the midst of the 90-year anniversary of an annual tradition that is more grotesque than the group’s American minds can handle.
As I said, Ari Aster is a strange dude, but he is also a goddamn visionary. Is it too early to call him that? Though it is only his sophomore feature, Midsommar is further proof of how intricate Aster is with the subgenre of horror he plays with. A major aspect that struck me was the sunshine visuals. From a directorial standpoint, Aster shows off his range by displaying that disturbing horror doesn’t always have to be visually dark. His previous film prospered from dark cinematography, but what makes Midsommar effective is the bright imagery and the framework that goes along with it.
Once Dani, Christian, and his friends enter the Swedish village, it feels like you’re transported to another territory that is bright and colorful. Aster uses colorful vibrancy to juxtapose the mood and the bizarre actions of the villagers. Everything about the people — from their upbeat and optimistic personalities to the costumes and floral crowns, white robes, and skirts with floral designs — throws you off and immerses you more. The production design is incredible as Aster makes this expansive open-world village his playground. He succeeds on creating an estranged culture while being consistent with it.
The framework is so masterful, for each location (interior or exterior) looks like an open landscape. There is even a stylish transition early on with Dani that’s present in the trailer which impressed the hell out of me. She is at Christian’s house and is triggered by Christian’s Swedish friend mentioning her loss, prompting her to retreat to the bathroom. As she opens the door, it transitions to an airplane bathroom as she’s doing her same action, hyperventilating and crying. Small stylish details such as those are placed throughout the film, keeping the narrative moving at a fast pace. The movie is over two hours long and never did I once feel the run time.
Another thing that I love about the movie is the tone. While it had bursts of comedic humor, it works in context with the characters, their personalities, and the situational reactions to the villagers’ cult traditions. It delivers laughs, but the majority of the time it’s nervous, uncomfortable laughter, for you’re unsure of what is to happen next.
English actress Florence Pugh is having a great year. Between Midsommar and Fighting With My Family, Pugh is proving that she’s a magnificent performer with a variety of tricks up her sleeve. I’m always impressed by how British and Irish actors are fucking great at American accents. I heard Poulter pull it off in the Maze Runner series and Jack Reynor in that awful Transformers: Age of Extinction, but I hadn’t heard it from Florence Pugh until now. So, hearing her American accent for the first time was impressive. She plays a great character you can resonate with and Pugh does such a magnificent job controlling each second of screentime. The range of emotions she brings to this character is incredible and her impactful performance lingers with you. She’s just that powerful.
Jack Reynor plays the asshole so perfectly, even down to his nonchalant delivery to emphasize how much he doesn’t care about the people around him, for he does everything for his own benefit. Whether it’s being emotionally unavailable for Dani or stealing the research project for his smart Black friend, he’s a fucking prick.
I love how the script balances a thorough character arc with an enticing lead while being consistent with it as well. Aster does a solid job developing the character and, while this arc for Dani seems very straightforward, it’s handled with intellectual care that you have to commend. Balancing a very disturbing horror film mixed with a deep story about a person going through their own five stages of grief is a peculiar feat and hits a solid bullseye. While I felt that Hereditary fell short on any logical payoff with Toni Collette’s character who was going through her own stages of grief, here I felt Aster was completely thorough with his lead’s journey and the theme of grief and toxic codependency while balancing her arc with the horror.
While the story is centered primarily on Dani, it is also focused on her relationship with her boyfriend Christian. From the get go it’s visible how unhealthy it is where she is completely codependent on him to help her with her emotions and he’s just there not reciprocating any of it while also being a complete scumbag.
I liked the set of characters here muuuuch more than the people in Hereditary, even the unpleasant ones. There was always something about each characters’ personalities — especially their dynamics — that caught me off guard and kept me entertained. Aster does a great job building up and developing the people that when you get that first gruesome shock moment that makes you go “HOLY SHIT,” it’s earned. It’s the same thing that was magnificent about Hereditary that caught everyone off guard. While it bears the same timing beats as his previous feature, the story is developed enough to leave you fulfilled with enjoyment.
Colorful, well written, fucked up, and disturbing — but also visually fascinating, which is what Ari Aster does best — Midsommar is a sunshiny horror that proves Aster as an ambitious filmmaker who wears his craftsmanship on his sleeve.
Rating: 4.5/5 | 92%
