Scan barcode
A review by notwellread
Midsommar by Ari Aster
5.0
This review contains some spoilers for Midsommar (though I have tried to double-lock the more serious twists) and spoilers for the director’s previous feature, [b:Hereditary|44562907|Hereditary|Ari Aster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553183129l/44562907._SX50_.jpg|64717477].
Ari Aster describes his latest offering as ‘a post-apocalyptic break-up movie’. As with the marketing for Hereditary, this is not exactly misleading but does not really tell the whole story. The human interest is what draws me to his films, but in some ways I would like a bit more context here where Hereditary supplied it pretty generously.. I enjoyed both the above elements, and although I would have liked to see the ‘apocalypse’ come sooner, I respect that Aster’s style is more ‘slow burn, big payoff’.
In my opinion, the screenplay is more ‘freaky’ than scary, and not a straightforward horror film at all. This seems to be a bit of a pattern for Aster — some of his short films, like Munchausen, are more sad than scary; Hereditary was originally conceived as a family drama without the supernatural elements; and Midsommar is apparently his last horror film for a while, although he consistently doesn’t discuss it like he considers horror a major element, describing it more with the vocabulary of a dark fantasy: “The Wizard of Oz for perverts”, there’s a big emphasis on the visual and artistic elements, and it has a lot more humour, which is also reflected in the marketing. In fact, audiences probably won’t find it as frightening as the trailer implies, and specific scenes in particular do not really culminate in a scary way. You might even say our expectations are subverted. (Please note that I’m not trying to be edgy by saying I didn’t find the screenplay scary; I thought Hereditary was terrifying. I just get the impression that artistic concerns, visual interest, and general opportunities for experimentation took precedent here.)
In particular, I think it helps to go in knowing that Hereditary was originally not conceived with a supernatural element. Here, the ‘magic’ is much more ambiguous because the characters spend so much of the film on drugs. I’m inclined to include that the rare moments that ‘appear’ supernatural are non-diegetic (i.e. they’re not ‘really’ happening within the world of the film), and that the antagonists and conflict are sourced entirely from the human cult members, and not any kind of supernatural force. A more questionable element is, but this remains very ambiguous. As with Hereditary, Aster takes considerable liberties with lore (partly as artistic license, and partly to maintain mystery and suspense), and I actually would have liked to see a closer connection to the Norse origins of the Midsommar traditions (at least one or two references to the cult’s beliefs about higher powers would have helped), and what exactly governs all their beliefs about .
The characters are significantly less sympathetic than Hereditary. Christian and Mark are quite stereotypical ‘bros’, and apparently not very serious Grad students of Anthropology, while Josh is the more serious, studious friend. Some of the insight into American academia surprised me — I had no idea you could get away with starting a PhD without a topic! — but other parts didn’t seem entirely realistic (or, at least, it was hard to suspend my disbelief).. On a minor note, I liked that Pelle’s moral code .
The sexual element is. Arguably it also factors in to the theme of cultural dissonance: .
I found the ending.
Anyone reading should take this with a grain of salt, of course, because the film released will inevitably look somewhat different from the screenplay: the most obvious additions in the trailer are the motif of labour breathing exercises (or what looks like them), and the scene of someone wiping the blood from their wrists on a rune-stone, though I’m not sure what this actually signifies.. There will undoubtedly be divergences more relevant to the plot as well, but pretty much everything that’s been released so far is consistent with this screenplay. I hope screenplay-readers have the general picture of what to expect, so we can steel ourselves accordingly.
Ari Aster describes his latest offering as ‘a post-apocalyptic break-up movie’. As with the marketing for Hereditary, this is not exactly misleading but does not really tell the whole story. The human interest is what draws me to his films, but in some ways I would like a bit more context here where Hereditary supplied it pretty generously.
Spoiler
With Hereditary, I liked the narrative but would like more of an idea of what the purpose of the ritual was and what Paimon is actually going to do once he has his vessel; here, I would have liked more backstory, since it’s not really clear why Dani’s family kill each other/themselvesIn my opinion, the screenplay is more ‘freaky’ than scary, and not a straightforward horror film at all. This seems to be a bit of a pattern for Aster — some of his short films, like Munchausen, are more sad than scary; Hereditary was originally conceived as a family drama without the supernatural elements; and Midsommar is apparently his last horror film for a while, although he consistently doesn’t discuss it like he considers horror a major element, describing it more with the vocabulary of a dark fantasy: “The Wizard of Oz for perverts”, there’s a big emphasis on the visual and artistic elements, and it has a lot more humour, which is also reflected in the marketing. In fact, audiences probably won’t find it as frightening as the trailer implies, and specific scenes in particular
Spoiler
(the women’s dance ceremony, the scene where the women all scream along with Dani, and the scene where Dani peeks through the keyhole and we hear them all moaning)In particular, I think it helps to go in knowing that Hereditary was originally not conceived with a supernatural element. Here, the ‘magic’ is much more ambiguous because the characters spend so much of the film on drugs. I’m inclined to include that the rare moments that ‘appear’ supernatural are non-diegetic (i.e. they’re not ‘really’ happening within the world of the film), and that the antagonists and conflict are sourced entirely from the human cult members, and not any kind of supernatural force. A more questionable element is
Spoiler
why Dani displays such a natural affinity with the cult and their practicesSpoiler
fertility, the life cycle, and reincarnationThe characters are significantly less sympathetic than Hereditary. Christian and Mark are quite stereotypical ‘bros’, and apparently not very serious Grad students of Anthropology, while Josh is the more serious, studious friend. Some of the insight into American academia surprised me — I had no idea you could get away with starting a PhD without a topic! — but other parts didn’t seem entirely realistic (or, at least, it was hard to suspend my disbelief).
Spoiler
It was quite hard to believe that Christian would try to write his thesis on the same topic as Josh. Firstly, I think most students (especially by such a late stage in their academic life) know that competing with the smartest kids on the same topic is generally not a wise tactic, and surely he would know that Josh has already been planning and working on the topic for some time already, and with his superior work ethic would almost certainly be submitting before him, unless Christian is secretly a natural born genius. It also seems like they both have a topic, but don’t really have a proper thesis statement or issue to explore? I guess I’m overthinking it and the point is to showcase Christian’s arrogance; there also seems to be a running theme in Aster’s films of people with bleak futures who never live to see those futures (Peter, like these characters, slacks off by being a stoner instead of finding a career path and doing SAT prep; Annie ultimately never lives to finish her miniatures and see her exhibition; and sadly, none of our characters will ever finish their PhDsSpoiler
remained so ambiguous. I get the idea that he really cared about Dani and wanted things to turn out well for her, even if it meant killing off her companions in the process, but maybe I’m reading too much into it and he really is just a tool of the cultThe sexual element is
Spoiler
a big part of the WTF-ery of the film. It does seem he wants to hang his narrative on the still-controversial idea that the maypole is a phallic symbol, which I believe is generally rejected today (but hey, it’s fiction after all). I was surprised Christian had such misgivings about sleeping with Maja, and yet he doesn’t seem to feel that way out of loyalty to Dani. Ironically, if he hadn’t slept with her, he might have lived. It also shows his own hypocrisy: he judges the taboos of the cult, but is willing to break his own culture’s taboo (sleeping with a 15-year-old) when it suits him. The ritual scene was probably the most reminiscent of Hereditary, for reasons that should be obvious, but it’s hard to imagine how it shouldn’t play out with at least a little element of humour. It feels like Aster’s objective is more to mess with the audience than scare themSpoiler
there’s some attempt to rationalise the cult’s practices initially, but once they catch on to what’s really happening it’s too late for them. I suppose the message is that it’s okay to have your own culturally-ingrained red lines? Or perhaps it reflects a kind of moral relativism: that not everything the cult do is entirely bad? Otherwise, I suppose it’s just meant to show the characters’ naivety, or that they’re trying too hard to seem ‘enlightened’I found the ending
Spoiler
surprisingly positive and empowering: we see the most likeable character come into her own, break free of those who see her as a ‘burden’, and forge a new family for herself, and yet the circumstances of her doing so are so horrific. I know there’s a more ‘positive’ reading of the ending of Hereditary, but I don’t really buy it, and it seems to strike a serious contract tonally, though they centre around a similar chaotic/apocalyptic culmination of feeling. I think there’s also a satisfying culmination in the fates of the men who belittled Dani in contrast with her rise to power, and it seems a surprisingly ‘gendered’ role reversal, in which she leaves a more patriarchal and Christianity-dominated society and now suddenly holds sway over ‘Christian’. If the cult’s beliefs are correct, Christian and co. can expect to be reborn within their children, so in a sense they don’t really ‘die’ at all, but it still puts their fate under the power of a woman (the mother). Often the role of gender relations is controversial within horror films, but I think it’s definitely thematic hereAnyone reading should take this with a grain of salt, of course, because the film released will inevitably look somewhat different from the screenplay: the most obvious additions in the trailer are the motif of labour breathing exercises (or what looks like them), and the scene of someone wiping the blood from their wrists on a rune-stone, though I’m not sure what this actually signifies.