Review: Midsommar

Florence Pugh is struggling with the suicide of her sister some time ago, and although supportive to her face, boyfriend Jack Reynor tells friends he’d like to break up with her. Complications arise when Pugh overhears Reynor and his pals discuss a trip to Sweden and now has to let her tag along. Their Swedish buddy Wilhelm Blomgren is inviting them to witness his village’s special ceremony, which two of the guys will be covering for a college thesis. Hallucinogenic drugs are taken, trips are had, suicide ceremonies enacted, and people start to go missing.

 

I enjoyed writer-director Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” just fine, and had heard that this 2019 film was pretty darn good too, kind of similar to 1973’s classic “The Wicker Man”. This pretentious, drearily drawn out snoozer wishes it was “The Wicker Man”. I’m not even sure it’s better than the ludicrous Nic Cage remake. There’s no consistency of character, none of the characters are likeable, and scenes drag on and on endlessly and disastrously. Especially in the “Director’s Cut” (which I viewed). The first 30 minutes in particular could’ve easily been done in 10 without losing anything of value. We’re not even in Sweden at that point, and when we do arrive we’ve only got seemingly one person amongst the protagonists who speaks the language – I just didn’t buy it. I particularly didn’t understand why Will Poulter’s insensitive, vaping idiot character was there. He didn’t belong in Sweden, nor did he seem to gel amongst his own friendship group. I didn’t buy that these characters wouldn’t just bugger off after the suicide ceremony. Or at least Pugh’s character.

 

In addition to being insufferably long, it’s incredibly repetitive and one-note. Aster is so in love with this pagan culture that we have to endure every moment of every ceremony they have. And boy do they have a ceremony for every occasion. They also watch “Austin Powers”, which seems to go against the pagan ‘living off the land, off the grid’ vibe if you ask me, in addition to just being random as hell. The finale is absurd and entirely laughable, that’s if you even make it that far. Have the people praising this not seen the original version of “The Wicker Man”? It does everything here 10 times better and considerably shorter. Terrible film, though apparently I’m in the minority so perhaps it’s just a taste I’ve not acquired. I hated it, but make of it what you will.

 

Rating: D  

 

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