{"id":7551,"date":"2019-07-01T20:48:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T00:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=7551"},"modified":"2019-07-01T20:48:14","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T00:48:14","slug":"review-midsommar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=7551","title":{"rendered":"Review: MIDSOMMAR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ari Aster continues to colorfully explore the depths of despair in soon-to-be cult favorite.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ll defend this one as an almost masterpiece, but viewers be warned, \u201cMidsommar\u201d isn\u2019t your standard horror flick. If you were brave enough to catch writer\/director Ari Aster\u2019s last cinematic chiller \u201cHereditary,\u201d then you might be prepared for this one. By comparison, Aster has gone bigger with this narrative, while still very much focusing on the lingering effects of family trauma and tragedy.

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Dani is dealing with some heavy family drama.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Dani (Florence Pugh) experiences a ghastly family disaster, she decides to go on a trip with her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), and his quirky assortment of university pals. Codependents Dani and Christian have a strained relationship only made more complicated by Dani\u2019s indescribably horrific loss. But maybe some time out of the country will do them both good.

One of Christian\u2019s running mates is a foreign student named Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren). A sensitive fellow, Pelle attempts to comfort Dani, telling her of his own tragic past. But Dani is walled off, except to Christian, who is ill-prepared or unwilling to see beyond the surface. The vacation takes them to Pelle\u2019s home, an idyllic commune somewhere in rural Sweden. But what was immediately a beautiful paradise slowly is revealed as something still idyllic but at a deadly price.

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It’s not your typical Spring Break for these college kids.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Elements of 1973\u2019s \u201cThe Wicker Man\u201d are blended with Aster\u2019s uncompromising and timeless examination of bereavement and our personal coping methods. \u201cMidsommar\u201d isn\u2019t for the squeamish, but it will certainly stay with you for days thereafter. Less commercial than Jordan Peele\u2019s \u201cUs,\u201d Aster\u2019s film is sure to generate cult interest while falling way short of Peele\u2019s staggering box office success. But both films are part of a modern horror whole, offering up multiple interpretations depending on your own headspace.

And it is impossible for me not to comment on \u201cUs\u201d within the context of this review. Sharing that film recently with my 15-year-old daughter proved to be an emotional experience that I wasn\u2019t prepared for. Sure, I saw the movie at a critic\u2019s screening and wrote passionately about it, but when the concept of nature vs. nurture and society\u2019s responsibility to children hit, I was leveled. With my daughter watching beside me, it all made sense. Children raised without structure, feral, in cages are likely to develop some anti-social behaviors. Consider the scene late in the film where Adelaide\u2019s father casually quips something like \u201cshe ain\u2019t been to Nam.\u201d He wants a quick answer to Adelaide\u2019s odd behavior, but there are never any easy answers.

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An idyllic commune hides a dark secret.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t get \u201cUs\u201d out of my head while considering \u201cMidsommar.\u201d Traumatic experiences shape us, and in the college kids, Aster gives us a collection of unique personalities each dealing with the changing and unfamiliar. Some, like the intellectual Josh (William Jackson Harper), try a studied approach, analyzing clinically those around him. The strange cult to Josh presents an academic opportunity. On the other end of the spectrum is Mark (Will Poulter), who complains about bugs while polluting his body without concern, puffing away endlessly on a large, obnoxious vape. Christian is somewhere in the middle, torn between feelings of genuine concern for Dani but staying with her out of obligation and convenience. Dani takes it all in, considering the commune and its people through the lens of her own grief.

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Writer\/director Aster creates a mythic place with hidden dangers.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMidsommar\u201d contains moments of unspeakable horror, but none are thrilling or exploitive. It\u2019s also funny. Tension is released as the youngsters incredulously survey their surroundings, both beautiful and dangerous. It\u2019s a frightening piece of filmmaking, marred perhaps, for some viewers, by a lengthy, excruciating conclusion. Aster pulls no punches.

But for me, Aster\u2019s achievement is impressive because with a little less attention, \u201cMidsommar\u201d would be an Eli Roth film. Thankfully, Aster wants us to think deeply about weighty issues. It\u2019s a film that amounts to a group therapy session for many viewers, including me.

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Director’s follow-up to Hereditary is equally disturbing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[1582,1583,1205,721,1581,1585,1584,734,1586],"class_list":["post-7551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-ari-aster","tag-florence-pugh","tag-hereditary","tag-jack-reynor","tag-midsommar","tag-the-wicker-man","tag-vilhelm-blomgren","tag-will-poulter","tag-william-jackson-harper","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7558,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7551\/revisions\/7558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}