A Strong Concept Let Down By Poor Execution

Rating: 4/10 (11 August 2019)

What a letdown!!! Not that I had strong expectations for Midsommar, the latest Ari Aster film (Hereditary I still haven't finished but doubt I will), but it generally hooked me in for a time with its strong start and concept of a couple dealing with loss and suffering in a genuinely touching and poignant way.
Florence Pugh totally sells it as the protagonist of a distressed woman on the brink of collapse after a personal tragedy and is by far, the strongest element of the film. Which is a pity when attached to an overly long, pompous and incredibly disappointing rip-off of the English horror film The Wicker Man. Yes, there are films that will inspire directors and new films for decades to come. Yes, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, Midsommar just can't seem to escape the familiar confines of it so desperately wanting to be the Wicker Man with its creepy tone, corruptible pagan society and unsettling ending.
Yes, it seems the best form of medicine for dealing with grief and seeing how far a relationship will go after a sudden tragedy is a good old pagan festival. At first an intriguing premise when dealing with the troubled relationship between the main protagonist and her boyfriend (who is certainly not of the same acting chops) then turns into a silly farce where a strange Swedish cult slowly turns sinister and to incredibly ludicrous extremes. The Wicker Man cult may have done terribly wicked things, but at least it felt natural to them why they would harness such evil power. The cult in this film however just seem to go crazy one day just to benefit the plot and not have a very deep or meaningful reason behind their brutality. There is a pagan ritual involving pubic hair for example which never feels justified and is simply done for shock value. By then, the film loses all credibility and its purely the good performance from Florence that keeps it limping forward.
On a technical standpoint, Midsommar fairs decently with a pleasantly creepy feel to the whole proceedings (there's an inspired 360 degree shot as the team head into the festival and one still shot of a few characters outside the sleeping quarters was strangely offputting in the right sense). The soundtrack was nothing to write home about but it worked for the tone.
I suppose my main gripe with this film is literally the letdown the film becomes after such a promising start. What could have been a powerful look into loss and tragedy just falls apart into a unintentionally funny, silly. over-the-top mess as its tries to shock you with its scenarios. Looking forward to seeing more from Florence Pugh. Not so much Ari Aster.