'Midsommar' (2019) Review

Going from strength to strength in his sophomore feature. Midsommar (2019) is the follow up for Ari Aster who achieved acclaim with his debut film Hereditary (2018). Once again, written and directed by Aster, Midsommar (2019) follows a couple in a strained and toxic relationship as they travel to Sweden with some friends to visit a commune’s once in a lifetime mid-summer festival. However things quickly deteriorate as the commune’s true motives are revealed.

Aster’s unique and eccentric directorial style helps bring this twisted and disturbing world to life. The camerawork succeeds in opening up the commune through the use of unbroken tracking shots and slow zoom outs, revealing more and more as the narrative goes on. It is also an effective tool in laying out the geography of the film, and making the most of a setting which is cinematically stunning. Midsommar is beautifully layered, taking its time to let every scene breathe, and the audience to soak in the spectacle, no matter how disturbing the imagery. Furthermore every shot feels expansive, what is going in the foreground doesn’t always feel like the most important thing in the frame. Reinforcing the sense of dread and fear that something is about to happen. The narrative structure is disorientating, but doesn’t feel messy, like two different films which are unbalanced in length and contrast in theme and mood, but compliment each other brilliantly, as one is dark, the other extremely colourful. The first focuses around the horror of death while the other focuses on the suspense before.

The film has an excellent cast of up and coming actors that excel brilliantly together. Their lack of conventional ‘star power’ makes them feel real and easy to relate too. Florence Pugh as the grief and anxiety stricken Dani is superb in the lead role, as she slowly descends into hysteria. Her performance is nuanced, refined, and fascinating to watch as her character is slowly transformed by the horrors around her. Pugh expertly does it all, spending so much time on screen it is clear her character and her arc has been meticulously thought through. Jack Reynor as Dani’s boyfriend, Christian, is an interesting performance, someone who is torn between the needs of his girlfriend, and the wants of his friends. Their chemistry as a couple is believable, and the problems they face are easy to relate too, which makes their reaction’s to the situation that unfolds faithful to the characters, and an interesting examination of a failing relationship. Will Poulter’s Mark is the epitome of toxic masculinity. When on screen he is very funny, but is laughed at rather than with. However he does succeed in bringing a small sense of levity to a film that would be void of any otherwise. The wider cast have a wonderful dynamic, each relationship different to the last, as the narrative unfolds, and dynamics shift, as do their interactions. The group of friends begin to question one another, as they are all slowly engulfed by the obscure wonders of Midsommar.

This film achieves its goal across the board. Its obscure tempo and narrative structure are complimented by the obscurities that take place in the film. It challenges the audience’s expectations from the beginning with shifts in rhythm and time, most specifically with a plot point revealed in the second act of the film, which renders time as void. Aster was in no rush to reach this film’s climax, it's clear the enjoyment he has in building its walls. Done with intricacy, with each action having a reaction further along. Once again we are the puppets, and Ari Aster is the master, toying with emotion and suspense. He is changing horror to fit his world.