Midsommar (2019)
Director: Ari Aster
Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson, Will Poulter
Primary genre: Horror
Secondary genre: Folk
In an era favoring short attention span, the modern horror genre has emerged triumphant by embracing the 70’s formula seen for example in “The Exorcist” (1973) or “Alien” (1979) and updating it with a more polished visual palette and nuanced themes.
Ari Aster delivered an original horror film in "Hereditary" (2018), a complex, slow-burn tale that dealt smartly with loss and grief in unexpecting ways. As with any infamous directional debut, the follow up is always the most difficult step for directors (e.g., Sofia Coppola, Neil BlomKamp, Quentin Tarantino) across all genres struggling to keep up with the audience’s and critics’ expectations.
Aster though deeps his toe in an unpopular subgenre: that one of folk call-me-“The Wicker Man” (1973) horror with “Midsommar” against the backdrop of a Swedish commune. Sweden (although the film was shot mostly in Hungary) provides a fascinating environment (the majority of the film takes place in broad daylight due to Sweden’s night day cycle) for Aster to unveil an enigmatic story of grief, surrounding itself by the horror elements of a cult that lures innocents bystanders to a particular fate. While “Midsommar“ appears to share similar elements with “Hereditary”, it focuses primarily on a dysfunctional and toxic relationship that further detoriates in three key areas: senses (the night day cycle), mind (language barriers) and soul (the commune’s customs).
Playing strongly with ambiguity until the inevitable climax, the film rewards patient cine-aficionados invoking lengthy discussions about several possible interpretations for particular segments. Yet, despite Aster’s efforts to admirably portray a problematic relationship with real emotional stakes that mirror our those of our own when we disconnect from someone we spent time with, his story becomes unconvincing when characters are presented as culturally insensitive and mostly oblivious (a common mistake in horror films). In 2019 this element feels misplaced especially when the aforementioned individuals are PhD anthropology students(!). To make matters worse, the script does not give the supporting cast anything meaningful to do besides laying the groundwork for the finale. Nevertheless, the relationship between Dani and Christian which crumbles minute after minute due to the lack of sincerity and honesty takes center stage here supported eloquently by Reynor and (particularly) Pugh who light up the proceedings every time they share the screen together by bringing out real human characteristics to their deeply flawed duo.
Yet an extremely slow pace might not be ideal for anyone who prefers films to get on point. “Midsommar” does feel like a self-indulgent film at certain moments where nothing specific happens on screen besides extensive dialogue about unrelated matters. A tighter edit could have given “Midsommar” a snappy attitude while retaining all of its key ingredients. Still, if you can get pass by that, it is evident that Aster’s direction favors long takes that embrace myriad of visual details generated by a stunning production design that contains smartly inserted cues, a stellar cinematography that emphasizes the characters’ turmoil, exquisite sound design and a rather ominous and unnerving score by Bobby Krlic that complements the on-screen proceedings nicely.
"Midsommar" might be one of the most beautiful (horror) films ever made. Exquisite art production, phenomenal direction, and gorgeous visual storytelling place "Midsommar" above the traditional and mindless horror flicks of the bin. Despite some problematic characterization which undermines the proceedings and a rather lengthy running time, the film offers a deep insight into a problematic relationship supporting by the excellent performances of Reynor and (especially) Pugh. At this time, it is more than enough to see films having their own unique voice in a fast food production line of telegraphic moving pictures.
One of the most beautiful horror films ever made
+Fantastic cinematography
+Fantastic direction
+Gorgeous visuals
+Hidden audio and visual clues throughout
+Effective horror elements
+Great sound design
+Unnerving score
+Pugh is sensational
-Typical American archetypes
-Certain scenes do not contribute much
-Might be too slow for some