Autumn is upon us, all the leaves are brown and the sky is grey, divorced dads are preparing to criticise athletes for protesting police brutality; the Halloween decorations that Sabrina stans put up months ago are in fashion, and the dental-pumpkin spice industrial complex is ruling the world again. To mourn the end of summer I wrote about some of my favourite films of the last few months and what made them interesting to me. SPOILER WARNING!
I Know Why the Caged Bear Sings: Midsommar
“So, we’re just gonna ignore the bear then”. This is a British visitor to Hårga’s first reaction upon seeing a bear in a cage and until the final act of the film it is ignored. As is Dani (Florence Pugh), a mid-20s college student stuck in an apathetic relationship with Christian (Jack Reynor). This dynamic is where the true terror of this film comes from.
Unlike typical horror films involving young adults travelling to a foreign land and disrespecting it to the point that it leads to their deaths, Midsommar opens with a truly traumatic experience and concludes cathartically. Similar to Hereditary, Ari Aster’s 2018 hit, the horror of Midsommar is at home. Dani and Christian’s relationship is a one-sided affair signified through his struggle to say ‘I love you’. Christian is blind to the fact that he has a loving partner, and he is unappreciative to the point that Dani apologises when he is in the wrong so as to not increase the rift between them. He literally and figuratively towers over her, but for a second during an argument, she rises, only to be made feel small again. Christian is implored by his friend Mark (Will Poulter) to leave Dani and is told to imagine all the beautiful Swedish women he could be having sex with, while Dani is an agony, wailing on the floor grieving the loss of her loved ones. Christian feels trapped in this relationship, but it is Dani who is caged.
However, when they arrive in Sweden the tourists’ world is turned upside down. At home, Dani followed the group into parties and was left out of conversations, but here she leads them into Hårga, is embraced by the villagers far more than any of her male counterparts and during a bad trip, she becomes one with the land itself. Dani is scared to embrace this culture at first before accepting their way of life and you can see true glee on her sunny face which was absent before their trip. The film’s ending is the inverse of the beginning, as Dani, surrounded by new friends, is lifted above Christian who becomes a powerless man, alone in a room full of confident women. This moment provides a nightmarish vision of Mark’s Swedish dreams as Christian is impregnating a beautiful woman while Dani is again mourning the loss of a loved one. But this is not how Christian imagined it, as it takes place against his will before he is physically blinded and trapped. As in the classic slashers which leave a heavy imprint on this film, Dani, who, according to Mark dislikes sex, is the final girl while the three stooges who accompanied her meet their gruesome end. The old Dani is burnt with the bear and as when the elders’ corpses were burnt, a new Dani rises from the ashes: an unclouded Dani.
Midsommar has a long runtime, but leaves you wanting more as it such an enjoyable watch. Even the distressing opening is filled with hilarious but painfully realistic scenes of young male arrogance and idiocy. There is a stark difference between the dark, drab and selfish modern world and the bright, communal Hårga, but the twisted humour remains as this is a land in which road safety regulations cannot be broken but tourists are butchered. Anything is better than an old folk’s home, though. Pugh cements herself as one of the best young actors for the foreseeable future after her breakout role in Lady Macbeth (2016). Her transformation into the gleeful May Queen is both wondrous and worrying as she becomes more in touch with herself but less in touch with reality. The vulnerability and grief displayed in Pugh’s facial expressions are so overwhelming that you can’t help but wish that she had literally anyone to be there for her. But Will Poulter steals the show with his performance as the fool who is skinned and also tucks his pants into his socks to avoid ticks. The journey we take with his character is the complete opposite of our relationship with Dani; he is so arrogant that I just wish his demise was shown.
Filmed in Budapest, Midsommar is visually stunning. The sun draping over the hills provides you with a sense of warmth while the hauntingly-angled buildings ensure you never get too comfortable. The murals throughout are beautiful and provide clues for what is to come, from the painting of a princess and a bear in Dani’s apartment, to the opening image which maps out the plot perfectly, these are hidden (sometimes in plain sight) throughout and the overall production design of the film is deserving of some awards buzz. Ari Aster devilishly delivers on the gore and body horror we’ve come to expect from other sun-soaked shlock masterpieces such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). One scene in particular is so beautifully bloody that multiple people in all the screenings I went to got up and left, but if you are also find joy in the pain of freak-out movies, Midsommar is made for you.
Equal parts grotesque and hilarious, Midsommar is one of the year’s best so far.
The Emperor’s New Clothes: Far From Home
If you’ve played the spectacular Spider-Man game for the PlayStation 4, you know that Peter Parker has A LOT of suits and in Far From Home he needs his suit more than ever.
In Tom Holland’s second full front-and-centre outing as our friendly neighbourhood hero, he and director Jon Watts manage to keep the 80’s John Hughes-inspired hijinks from Homecoming (2017) while also incorporating an interesting new aspect: Parker’s identity issues. For once the man behind the spider mask isn’t pushing 30 (no disrespect to Tobey the GOAT or Garfield, who’s making really good movies now), and he is allowed to truly be a teenager, which puts him on two typical teenage journeys: trying to find love and trying to find himself – with the added twist that he can do whatever a spider and a night monkey can. For most teens, their biggest question is whether they want to be a goth, a curehead or *gasp* even a psychobilly, but the less said about them the better. These are not the questions facing Peter; he must choose between being a normal teenager and saving the world. Unlike Thor, a literal God, Peter can put down his mask and leave it all behind. Which he attempts to do, if only for one last summer.
Parker’s split personality of a timid boy and a confident hero has always been present. It is evident in every image of Spider-Man perched atop a building staring at his reflection and in his suit, which not only features duelling colours but webbing spraying out in different directions like shattered glass. His suit is crucial to his hero identity; without it he is awkward and stumbles on his words, but behind the mask, he is known for his quick wit. In this latest iteration of Spidey, it is perhaps more important than ever. Parker is a reluctant hero desperate for a brief respite from his duties as a defender of the world after spending five years dusted. His journey follows that of Shinji Ikari, the protagonist in Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995), Hideaki Anno’s masterpiece about growing up, responsibility, depression, religion, giant mech suits and much more. Shinji struggles with not only saving the world but with the burden the title of saviour bears. The absence of his father has left him lost and causes him to have a sometimes-antagonistic relationship with authority figures until he finds the love of others and finds himself. In this film, there is a Tony Stark-shaped hole in Peter’s heart that is manipulated by Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio. Spider-Man struggles not only with the villains he faces but also with his allies, which is clear through his contumacious interactions with ‘Nick Fury’. After having been betrayed by Beck (Mysterio’s alter ego) during marvellous mirage sequence, Peter is down-and-out thousands of miles from home. But he is not down for long and just as Shinji finds himself through others, Parker finds himself in his suit: not one made by Tony this time, but self-made. This helps him regain his ‘Peter-tingle’ and save the day.
Just when Parker reaches the end of his journeys to find both himself and love, the whole world finds him too as J.K. Simmons is back as alt-right J. Jonah Jameson (!!!) and reveals Parker’s identity to all. Spider-Man’s future is up in the air both in the film and outside as Disney and Sony have ended their partnership (for now). I’m excited for the future of this franchise as Sony have proven themselves capable of greatness through both the Spider-Man game and Spiderverse, which is on the comic book movie Mt. Rushmore. The moments in this film when Parker could be himself, all versions of it, and not just a Tony Stark fanboy were great, and I hope for more of that in the future whichever massive corporation is funding it.
Tweet Length Reviews
Detective Pikachu: It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die!
John Wick 3: Cements itself as a top 3 film franchise alongside Paddington and Mission Impossible through dogs siccing balls.
Diego Maradona: E non sanno che se so perso.
The Dead Don’t Die: It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.
The Souvenir: She’s got everything she wants, but everything she needs money don’t buy. Now if that ain’t the blues, I say listen.
Booksmart: Fun cast hurt by strange elitist politics and a Run the Jewels song. Free Pales!
