A well made but overlong mystery movie.

Rating: 6/10 (7 July 2019)

At two and a half hours long Midsomar isn't afraid to take it's time. Set primarily in a remote commune in Sweeden we're given plenty of time to take in our surroundings with wide, lingering views of the scenery. With that time however the film fails to say much.
Soon after the main plot begins I could shake the feeling that I'd seen this all before. It shares too many similarities with The Wickerman (1973) for it to be a coincidence. It feels like a reboot for the post Get Out era sharing a similar sounding score to Jordan Peeles debut.
There are moments of brilliance in this film, from the representation of people's expeience on Mushrooms to some excellent direction and scene transition. The leading light is Florenece Pugh however, her character suffers an unimaginable loss in the opening scenes and her sense of grief is palpable. I empathise with her immediately as she attempts to rebound and life her life but struggles with panic attacks and depression. Her experience in the commune in ways gives her an emotional outlet, she is allowed grieve and she is given a support system which she never knew she lacked.
It is the other characters in Midsomar that fail to garner any semblance of empathy or connection. Christian (Jack Reynor) is written as the archetypal asshole. Every decision he makes is worse than the last leading you to think that he is purposely trying to upset everyone around him. While Reynor is immensely watchable his character is just so unbelievably self centered that it begins to grate.
The other characters here aren't fleshed out nearly enough to be thought about, merely tagging along for plot devise purposes which is a shame because in Will Poulter and William Jackson Harper they cast two brilliant actors for light roles. Instead we spend time getting to learn the rituals of the community. While interesting I feel as if too much time is spent establishing that the practices are ancient and related to the mid summer practices of old. There is beauty in the scene choreography however and I could watch the dining scenes all day.
At the end I wasn't shocked or excited by what is seen. It's certainly a film that deserves to be seen and if you want to watch it watch it in the cinema because it looks and sounds spectacular. It's just a shame that it doesn't capitalise on its own hype of being something bold and new when really it's been done before.