MIDSOMMAR

After impressing last year with his critical horror hit “Hereditary”, director Ari Aster quickly returns with his follow-up film “Midsommar”; a film that outwardly appears very different from its predecessor, but who actually shares similar themes to that film.

Dani and Christian are an unhappy couple who are on the brink of breaking up. Unbeknown to Dani, Christian has already started planning for life without her, booking a holiday with his mates to Sweden, where the plan is to take copious amounts of drugs and sleep with as many of the gorgeous locals as possible. However when Dani suffers a massive personal tragedy, Christian does the right thing and sticks by her, even inviting her to join them on their boys trip to Sweden (much to the chagrin of his mates). Soon the group takes off on their journey and head to one of the friend's rural community to join in on the nine day mid-summer celebrations taking place. While the white costumes, flowers and dancing, project fun and frivolity, it isn't long before the group realises that they are disguising a much more menacing nature to it all, but is it already too late for them?

It goes without saying that Ari Aster is a supremely talented filmmaker, as his two features so far have been, from a technical standpoint, stunning. Each shot has a level of perfection to it that you can tell it has been well thought out long before anyone has arrived on set. Production design is second to none and in “Midsommar” he has done a fantastic job of creating this world that is both believable (whilst still unusual) and scary. His attention to detail is so impressive, and this is shown in a brilliant overhead shot of the commune sitting down to eat. Every piece of cutlery or food is exactly in the right place, and when the group finally begin to eat, it creates a “Mexican wave” type movement across the table. It is a stunning moment, one of my favourites within the entire film, and a perfect example of Aster's razor sharp preparation. The problem with all of this, because everything feels so planned to the nth degree, it doesn't seem to give the actors a natural space to work in with their characters, as they constantly must service the shot, rather than their character or story. This gives the film a very cold and robotic feel to it, and it then loses immediacy and emotion, as everything feels forced to fit into what has already been pre-planned. I have felt this both with “Hereditary” and “Midsommar”; I am not blind to the fact of just how well put together they are, but at times they lose me due to the emotional coldness to them.

The big asset that “Midsommar” does have though is Florence Pugh who plays Dani. She is anything but cold in her emotions, as throughout the course of the film she is put totally through the wringer. Some of the guttural crying this poor girl does in the film just breaks your heart. Even the lead up work that Pugh does before she sobs uncontrollably is something to behold. This cannot have been an easy film to make for her, and I am guessing also totally exhausting. The character of Christian is the opposite in that he has emotionally checked out of this relationship already and admittedly Jack Reynor does a good job in his role, but appears to get lost next to the impressive theatrics of Pugh's performance.

Aster does a great job of creating this “paradise” world, but also makes it feel very surreal or like a bad drug trip. He makes brilliant use of the Swedish summer, a time when there is very little darkness/nighttime, and this ever-lasting sunshine creates a disorienting affect on both us, as an audience, and to the characters themselves. Waking up from a bad drug trip in the “night” to the blazing sun actually creates a fear in them because it just doesn't feel right or normal. Another thing you have to give Aster props for is creating a horror film that is set primarily during the day time. It is hard to create scares without the darkness, but in saying that, “Midsommar” is not a “boo!” type of scare film anyway. It is all about atmosphere and an increasing feeling of dread and doom. It is a feeling that continually grows and is quite unnerving. The first instance where this perceived idyllic paradise shows signs of horror is during an incredibly effective scene, that becomes quite graphic and bloody too (enough to warrant the “R” rating it earned over here in Australia).

As beautifully well made as “Midsommar” is, it does have a number of flaws, with the major one being its extended running time. This is a horror film that goes for two and a half hours, which is far too long. Each scene or moment seems to continue long after it has made its point and it ends up feeling like total self indulgence on the part of its director. Personally it lessened the experience for me and took me out of the moment as boredom set in, which in turn breaks the atmosphere that Aster has been building (and I should mention, that I am a fan of slow moving films too). The other main problem is that it is very predictable and you know exactly where the film is going to end up very early on. Maybe it is due to the familiarity of “The Wicker Man”, but there are no surprises when this paradise begins to turn on our characters. Speaking of the characters, it also irked me that two of the friends essentially disappeared from the film and quickly forgotten (although I have heard recently that their fates will be shown on the extended cut of the film purported to be included on the upcoming blu ray release). Finally, whilst not a flaw per se, the similarities in regards to rituals between the ending of “Hereditary” and “Midsommar”, may cause some to question if Ari Aster is a one trick pony.

Overall, “Midsommar” is a supremely well made film, there is no denying that. Superbly shot and designed, but at times it also felt quite mechanical and cold. It's inflated running time does it no favours, but director Ari Aster has created a disturbing and unnerving horror tale, that is also rather predictable. Despite all these, I enjoyed large parts of it and look forward to revisiting it in the future. I recommend “Midsommar” and look forward to what Aster does next.

3 Stars.