Midsommar is directed by Ari Aster and stars Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor.
Drama/Horror. Released 2019.
I wasn't sure what to expect of Midsommar - it's branded as a 'horror', so I definitely was anticipating some horrific elements, but the film is really lacking of the tropes associated with horror for it to really be considered that. I will say that at its core, Midsommar is a drama, with heavily abstract elements and excellent social commentary surrounding it. Its a psychedelic dream, an angelic trauma, a disturbing, heavenly ritual, and what ever other juxtaposing terms you can think of. If the technical elements of Midsommar such as the cinematography and production design weren't so utterly stunning, those juxtapositional descriptions would not be appropriate when describing it, because every other element is just so traumatising. Watching Midsommar is exhausting, overwhelming, and disturbing, but in the same breath, it is an utter masterpiece.
There is not a single frame in Midsommar which has not been thought about in accute detail by modern auteur Ari Aster - regardless of whether his approach is appealing to viewers, no one can deny that he is a masterful filmmaker. Every single element of the film embodies this juxtaposition I am describing, and what I think he is trying to communicate here is the damaging effects of addiction to false comforts. The film in itself is a false comfort to an extent; besides some graphic scenes as the reality of the situation is being made clear, the film is beautiful to look at even when Florence Pugh's Dani is experiencing extreme turmoil.
And yes, Florence Pugh... wow. After seeing her work in Midsommar and taking a glance at her upcoming resumé (Greta Gerwig's Little Women and Marvel's Black Widow film), its looking like Florence Pugh is about to become not only the May Queen of Midsommar festival, but the queen of the industry... think about Jennifer Lawrence in 2013... that. This would be completely deserved just based off of this performance alone - she is painfully real in the devastation she portrays and its riveting to see such commitment in a performance. There should be some serious awards consideration for Pugh, unless she gets nominated for Little Women instead.
What is so powerful about Midsommar from the perspective of an audience member is that through Pugh's Dani, we experience this place for the first time, and we are therefore in tune with Dani's emotional headspace and react accordingly. The film is very immersive; I had no thought about what could be going on a mile away from where it was set, nor did I think about anything happening off-screen. It's a consuming experience; slowly paced and painful to behold, almost as though Aster is trapping us. Yes, it was a relief to escape it, and it took a while to re-adapt, but I was,
and still am in awe.
See it if you think you can handle it.
A
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