Very Artistic Movie About Grief

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2019)

Midsommar Review:
Midsommar is written and directed by Ari Aster, the same guy who wrote and directed Hereditary (one of my favorite films), and follows a struggling couple who travel to Sweden to visit a rural hometown's fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult. This was my third most anticipated movie of the year. Hereditary was my favorite film of last year and I think it's an absolute masterpiece. This is definitely different from what I expected to see. Hereditary is a horror film about dealing with grief, and a bunch of other stuff that happens with supernatural cult stuff. I wouldn't consider Midsommar a horror movie at all. I think it's more of a drama with a little thriller stuff thrown in. It's more about Dani, played by Florence Pugh, and her failing relationship with Christian, played by Jack Reynor, all the while trying to deal with a recent tragedy. I should add that Jack Reynor did a good job as a horrible boyfriend and also a shocked man discovering everything that's happening. I think it shouldn't have been marketed or branded with the horror genre. It's not a huge problem it's just that after Hereditary and all the trailers for this most were probably expecting a horror movie. That being said it's not a bad movie. The plot is intriguing. It's more artistic and not for everyone. I think me and my friend were the only ones who actually enjoyed it out of everyone in the theater. Most people said "Well that was stupid" when it finished. I totally understand if anyone doesn't like it. The first hour I was debating if I liked it because nothing really happened. On an artistic level the first hour was good but not much happened. It was mostly the group getting high and sitting around before the festival. I thought everyone did a good job. Will Poulter played the funny one and he had many great one-liners. William Jackson Harper, just like his role in The Good Place, plays a serious guy and I enjoyed his character. He was most interested in the culture of these people. Once the festival begins things start to get more interesting and there's a sense of something being off. We all know everyone there is in a cult but we're confused on what they're going to do. Once the first most remotely "scary" part of the movie happens the rest of the "scares" are based mostly on shock value. One thing that might make people think this is dumb is the cult has many weird rituals that make us laugh in awkwardness. From what I read and know it was meant to be awkward so it wasn't just poorly done. I thought there were many shocking things that happen. That is all thanks to Florence Pugh. She is really good. They were saying that she was going full on Toni Collette in Hereditary but I don't think those two can be compared with the whole different plots. I thought Pugh portrayed a person dealing with grief perfectly. The opening tragedy scene we just hear her voice over a phone call and I thought it was just heartbreaking. The slow takes throughout, especially during that scene, added effect with some suspense and just making it like the audience is there discovering what is happening. May I add the cinematography was beautiful. It was brightly colored with pastels and there wasn't a shot, no matter how disturbing and shocking it was, that looked bad. Aster wanted pretty, light colors because there aren't many horror movies that have that look. There was always a sense of peacefulness throughout. It was honestly a calming movie that also wasn't at the same time. It's a very weird tone that I liked. The very end was such an interesting sense. Aster also likes a loud, beautiful song while something horrible yet joyous is happening. I really like that. The score by Bobby Krlic is good. Once again very peaceful and really pretty at times. This is a hard movie to write a review about. It's definitely one that needs an analysis and to be honest I haven't read one yet. I might be seeing it again and I might pick up on things I didn't the first time. I know there's lots of foreshadowing with these paintings and pictures in the background and plainly there for the audience to see. I found some that I noticed later and I want to know more. Overall it's a very interesting movie. Ari Aster went through a breakup and this is his way of writing it out on paper as he puts it. I can definitely see how that life event shaped this. That's really the meaning of the movie. Life events shape our lives. If you're not one for slow paced, artistic, strange movies this isn't for you. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone. It's more aimed for a specific group. I did enjoy it, not as much as Hereditary though so I guess I was expecting just a little more. Not that it's bad I just had different expectations. If you plan on seeing it just don't expect a single thing. That will help for a better viewing experience.
My Grade: B