More like a painting than a narrative *spoilers*

Rating: 6/10 (2 November 2019)

I think the film, while beautiful to look at, has simple storytelling problems: 1) we don't feel much for the characters, hence we don't feel much at all; 2) it has no climax.
The characters are not developed enough for us to feel that invested, and Christian, specifically, is too generic for us to care about him.
POV keeps changing, which may work for slasher movies, but here... not so much.
The worst moment in this sense is showing the red-haired girl getting ready for seduction: shouldn't we be always "with" the outsiders? Why are we "alone" with her? Bad scene.
And... no climax. As we know everything that is going to happen (foreshadowing is largely used in tapestry, wall paintings, and dialogue), there are no surprises or reveals.
Also, to work as a fable, it should be more distant from reality; to work as reality, it should be closer to it. There are many contrivances - are the boys really PhD students? If so, why are they so completely lost regarding methodology, ethics, theme definition and all the basics of which common researchers are aware?
The festival happens every 90 years, but the May Queen is elected every year. So her role in the other 89 years is to bless the crops, and this one time (what a coincidence that Dani got to win!) is to decide who dies. Oh well.
As others are commenting, Midsommar does less with what other movies did more.
For loony pagans and their rituals with a somewhat anthropologist character, The Wicker Man.
For white-dressed girls dancing in trance, Picnic at Hanging Rock.
For cult craziness and the effects on a girl, Marcy May Marlene.
For a detached, superficial boyfriend, Legally Blonde ;)