Gorgeous yet boring

Rating: 6/10 (29 May 2020)

Since I enjoyed "Hereditary" a lot, I was excited about Ari Aster's new film "Midsommar". Gotta say... kinda disappointed. I remember hearing from someone that the ending is insane and s**t really hits the fan. Maybe that's where I set my expectations wrong, because it never really does. The film is somewhat disturbing, but it never got to me in the way that the events of "Hereditary" did. I really think it comes down to two things:
1. The films lenght. Not even the running time per se, just how long and dull most of it is. I'm not very scared of traditions, let alone Swedish ones, so it feels more like a trip through an ethnographic museum than a horror film.
2. The characters make some choices and react in ways that just took me out of the experience. Also dialogue in some crucial points of the film (very rarely) to me seemed stupid and unbelievable.
Biggest advantage to this film is the cinematography and set design. Both were truly beautiful and kept me interested through some boring parts. Performances are mostly fine, but Florence Pugh is top notch. Gotta love those screaming, crying faces amirite, Ari?
This was not a bad film, and I don't regret watching it, I was just a bit let down, but probably will see the next thing this director does. 6/10