Film Reviews

Midsommar (2019) Ari Aster 

After seeing Ari Aster's hit drama/horror film Hereditary (2018) I was very eager to see his second full length horror feature, Midsommar. The film follows Dani who recently lost her sister and parents in a devestating suicidal/murder. Dani's boyfriend, Christian is clearly struggling with their relationship as it is, which also seems to be holding him back from working on his thesis. Basically Christian and some of his friends join a Swedish student to go to a festival in order to work on their thesis' as well as have fun. Christian then of course invites Dani and while they are in this beautiful part of Sweden, a cultural festival turns into a horrid sacrifice ritual.  

Though I personally found the film intriguing there are some issues I have with the overall film. Before I go into critiquing the film I want to praise Aster for what he did wonderfully. If you are a type of person that loves to see the beauty in nature and can appreciate artistic framing, this film hits that on the nail perfectly. I felt as though watching this film took me into this beautiful surrounding and the floral spherical imagery was stunning and in a way contrasts with the actual horror in the film. Dani, I thought was a great character and I did feel like I could relate not only to her but a few of the other characters such as Mark and Josh. Mark's comedic relief throughout the film was an appropriate balance and very funny but in no way took away from the film itself. Josh seemed to be a voice of reason the film really needed and I felt that actor; William Jackson Harper did a great job. 

Spoilers* & Critiques 

Now though this classifies as a horror film I did feel as though the film never actually went anywhere. I felt that the main plot points were very underwhelming and after the film was over I was left wanting more of a climax and ending. I felt as though there was not enough horrific action that completely scared me, but more so disturbed me. Which I'm not opposed to, I just felt like I needed more.

Length wise I felt as if the film dragged on a little, there were some scenes I felt that kept going when the audience already knew the outcome. One specific example would be when the women are competing to be the May Queen, early on it is hinted that Dani will most likely end up being the May Queen because she shows so much interest in it, so I feel as though we did not need to see as much dancing as we did.

I also felt very conflicted when it came to how I was supposed to feel towards Christian in the film. I felt as though I was supposed to dislike Christian because he was unhappy in his relationship and in ways seemed like such a tool. Especially when Dani tries to talk to him about Connie and Simon leaving and he brushes it off. As well as the fact that he basically steals Josh's thesis, telling him straight to his face and then saying he has nothing to do with him when everyone suspects Josh or Mark stole a sacred text. Christian's character was very underdeveloped and I would argue suffers the most in the film. From being raped, drugged, and left unable to move/speak just to be burned alive.

The trailer features a inbred character who is also brought up in the film as someone who has no cloudiness in their mind which allows them to speak with higher powers. I was greatly disappointed that this character was not explored more but more so left off screen. A lot of deaths were also left off screen which resulted in only seeing snip bits of the aftermath. Which though is understandable in a film, it also is confusing to me why Aster wouldn't focus more on the horrific events, but in doing so could also leave the audience to run with imagination. 

Analyzing 

The film addresses grief in a subtle way but is a main focus for Dani. I think one way to interrupt the film could be how grief affects Dani and that the choices she makes are actually her coping mechanism. Now if you have also seen Hereditary we can draw a lot of similarities between the theme of both of these films. 

Specifically I think the film showcase how grief and trauma affects our lives and in some way transforms us forever. Dani would be the perfect example of that transformation. Though Dani notices her friends disappearing one by one she grows closer to this cult because ultimately Dani is orphaned. Now even though it is very clear that the events that take place in this festival are terrifying and in no way are morally okay, Dani does not care because she has found a community that listens to her and has also made her May Queen. In doing so they also end up calling her one of their own and label her like a sister.

In the beginning of the film it is obvious that Christian and his friends are not too engaging with Dani after the loss of her family, because not only do they not relate to her they themselves are not going through the grieving process. When Dani is crowned May Queen we see that other women start following her around and mimicking Dani's breakdowns, as if they are comforting her as well as understanding her pain. I think the reason Dani ends up choosing to burn Christian alive is because he and his friends represent the past for Dani, they represent her grief, her trauma and when the temple goes down in flames Dani can let out her feelings physically and the closing shot of her smile is because Christian is gone and now she has a new family.

The take away from this interpretation would be the fact that trauma changes us in unknown ways and that can potentially lead to something horrifying. Another aspect of the film to reinforce this interpretation would be the bear in a cage. During the film we see the motif of a bear above Dani's bed which could symbolize her grief. At the festival we are shown this bear in a cage which later is skinned at wrapped around Christian for his sacrifice. So essentially we can say the bear in a way is like the grief Dani is harvesting, by putting Christian in the bear skin and burning him she is then letting go of the grief instead of caging it up. 

Though there are endless way to interpret film, one review I came across compared the film to a fairy tale like narrative. Because Dani is orphaned, then taken to a new place and crowned Queen. Which is cohesive in this interpretation's own way I just feel it is too on the nose and misses more depth of the characters.

Concluding Thoughts, No Spoilers* 

Though I do find this film to be a new kind of cinematic abstract horror I did not personally find the film to be scary or even thrilling. More so I found this film to explore a horrific concept that ultimately never climaxes until the end (if you consider that a climax). If anything I would say this film is extremely artistic and very disturbing. I don't feel like the film is bad, but possibly a more subtle type of horror. If you are looking for something toned down and a little graphic this film might be one you can watch and maybe enjoy.

If you are looking for something more dramatic as well as horrific, Ari Aster's Hereditary is probably the best newest horror film I've seen in a while. Both of these films explore very similar themes in contrasting ways, but if you actually want to be scared watch Hereditary. You won't regret that.