The second feature film outing by Ari Aster, about a group of Americans who visit Sweden for a festival that occurs once every ninety years, and find themselves in the clutches of a pagan cult is a visually delicious picture.
I call it "high art," because this is a master of the craft. The "narrative" or roaming camerawork, symbolic and beautiful mise-en-scene, blocking, and strong plastics (or visuals) remind me of a Park Chan Wook, Stanley Kubrick, Bernardo Bertolucci, Wong Kar Wai, or Tarsem Singh.
Film is a collaborative medium, so it's refreshing when people get out of an artist's way and let them tell their story, flaws and all.
The "gimmick" of it being the first and only horror movie entirely during the day seems to be a concept that was created in post, as trailers have shown some scenes at night. Regardless, it is unsettling and effective to have our characters stuck in a world which never truly "sleeps." While they should have left at the first sign of trouble, and you find yourself thinking, "Get outta there!", I think Ari finds logical reasons to have them stick around. And it doesn't hurt they're high for most of the picture.
Be warned, it's not a straight genre picture, it's not always fun, and it's LOOOONG. Did I mention it's slow and long? I made the mistake of not looking at the running time when going to the theater.
The only "problem" I had was similar to the issue I had with Ari's last brilliant film, HEREDITARY, which half way into it, I began to wonder if this was going to turn out to be a bad movie. However, it gets good before the end. This formula of boring us before bringing the goods, I wish he used a bit more sparingly. Of course we have to be made to care, but I think he does it a bit much for commercial taste.
The set up never really has a pay off or is connected with the pagan cult. Like Chekhov's Gun, why have a gun in the first act, if it doesn't go off in the second? You could cut 90% of the first act, and still have a great movie.
Florence Pugh plays Dani, as this film's Final Girl trope / heroine. And she delivers an award worthy performance. Her arc and point of view is what drives this. Her boyfriend, played by Jack Reynor, is a douche bag, and gets what's coming to him in the end. Theirs is a dysfunctional relationship, and they should have broken up long ago. This film certainly brings an end to it.
The effective use of humor, makes me curious when I hear Ari wants to do a comedy for his next outing. I loved the comedic Will Poulter, and when directors cast cross genre so that actors can show their range.
The trippy, psychedelic mushroom induced visuals, flower fields, pyramid, sun and illuminati imagery, make for a strong visual experience, but it is cold, light on characters we care about, soul, and emotional investment, despite that protracted, unnecessarily long and indulgent opening.
Though this film, like Arronofsky's MOTHER, and maybe even Jordan Peele's US will divide audiences, I personally loved it, and give it an A-.
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