************************This review contains spoilers****************************
“Do you feel held by him? Does he feel like home to you?”
The words above are spoken to a young woman in crisis. A crisis of being newly orphaned and a crisis of conscious, wondering if her longtime boyfriend is the man she’d always thought him to be. Everyone has experienced some hardship or painful moment that brings us to our lowest point. Most of us have also been stuck in a relationship with someone we know is poisonous to our well-being but we hang on anyway, hoping that the existence we dream of with them by our side manifests into reality eventually. But while we tread the murky emotional waters of these circumstances, what pitfalls are we potentially opening ourselves up for by remaining in this dark void instead of headed toward a healthy form of self-care? Rising director/writer Ari Aster follows up his 2018 film Hereditary by using his extensive research on historical Swedish cultural rituals to provide a dark horror take on this question.
Midsommar trails a group of graduate students, among them Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor), a couple with a tenuous relationship. After Dani suffers a family tragedy, she invites herself to join Christian and his grad school friends Mark (Will Poulter), Josh (William Jackson Harper), and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) on a trip to visit Pelle’s commune during a traditional Swedish midsummer festival. The friends soon find themselves caught in the middle of mysterious festivities they don’t fully understand.
When we first meet Dani, her family life is in shambles. Her sister suffers from severe bi-polar disorder, leaving her in a constant up and down emotional state verging on suicide at her lowest points. As Dani works to help her sister through her mental illness, the person she hopes to be able to turn to for her own solace, Christian, is distant, unsupportive, and generally perturbed at having to help his girlfriend with her emotional turmoil. The combination of being a mule led to lift the heavy loads of others and having no one to turn to leaves Dani miserable and susceptible to the charms of a person or persons promising the support and stability she cannot seem to get elsewhere; appealing to her need for communal belonging. The human need to feel you have a place amongst people who care for you is Midsommar’s central theme and what we are meant to explore as we journey along the Swedish plains with Dani. The combined lack of support from her partner and burden she carries for loved ones create a perfect storm of emotional turmoil that pave the way for the plot developments therein. She’s a young woman searching for a place, for love, and the vulnerability that develops from such a place is integral in determining where Dani ends up. Dani’s feelings of isolation and abandonment make her the perfect target for a manipulative person or group looking to recruit her for their own nefarious means, touching upon a subtopic in the film; how cults and similar groups operate. Pelle has recognized her need for acceptance and the fact that Christian not only fails to provide her a respite for her troubles, but actively contributes to the toxicity in her life.
Indeed, the story at the center of Midsommar is very timely, with stories like NXIVM bringing the machinations of cults to the forefront once more. The strategies used by real life cults to recruit new victims are all evident in this film, beginning with the fact that two-thirds of new members are brought in by friends or family members, as is Dani. Cults also tend to look for people who have just experienced life changing events, much like Dani has coming off the brutal deaths of her entire family. Breaking down a person and building them back up into someone who adopts the cult as their new family is a key component of conversion, which we experience with Dani as the plot unfolds. Pelle recognizes and seizes upon Dani’s susceptibility to manipulation due to both her family tragedy and relationship with Christian; pouring water upon the seeds of her existing doubts about Christian’s suitability as a mate. When Dani later discovers Christian having sex with a young pursuer of his from the commune, she has already been predisposed toward blaming Christian for the infidelity, despite the truth that he has been coerced into the sex act against his will. Dani’s painful cries afterward turn from pained reaction to catharsis; with the women of the cult by her side, she becomes a new woman ready to lead a new life, as had been the plan all along.
Ari Aster has described Midsommar as a film about a breakup and the relationship between Dani and Christian shown onscreen is a frustratingly accurate depiction of a one-sided, toxic relationship on its last legs. Christian is an expert representation of an uncaring, inconsiderate partner who gaslights his significant other into internalizing and accepting blame for disagreements that weren’t her fault to begin with. His lack of understanding for her and her sister’s mental illnesses, inability to open up with Dani or allow her to open up with him will be traits all too familiar to many viewers. In the end, Dani finds herself needing to be cleansed of the baggage and pain her relationship with Christian represented, and the ritual sacrificial bonfire at the end of the film represented a cleansing of sorts for her, as evidenced by her smugly satisfied reaction to the burning flames that engulf her cheating boyfriend. Fire has long represented nature’s way of cleaning any leftover debris and Aster smartly depicts that here.
Also sure to be talked about coming out of Midsommar is the film’s phenomenal cinematography, with the film occurring mostly outdoors in gorgeous Scandinavian plains and fields surrounded by multicolored flora. Ari Aster uses sunlight to his advantage and it gives the film a feel of being naturally lit, making all of its production design pop and stand out. Aster also utilizes some inventive camera angles and shots, such as the use of mirrors during indoor shots to play with perspective and visually impart how characters relate to one another. Dani and Christian are often set opposite each other with one’s reflection appearing in a mirror, a parallel to their often adversarial relationship. The cameras in Midsommar also often take on a life of their own, moving upside down, turning and rotating wildly like the minds of the characters when we seem them take hallucinogenics during the festivities. The film is also packed to the brim with visual clues throughout, mostly through the intricate drawings that appear at the commune, with even the entire midsummer festival from beginning to end plainly shown onscreen multiple times. Dani’s importance to the story is displayed visually as well, with the light on her person appearing slightly brighter than other characters’ or Pelle’s wish for her to become the festival’s may queen hinted at through drawings.
Writing a paragraph highlighting the film’s performances will extending this article more than had I hoped to, but Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, and Will Poulter were too good to not garner any specific reaction. All three were young actors on the rise before appearing in Midsommar and their acting here only serves to cement and enhance their standing. Pugh has shined brightly the past few years with notable performances in Lady MacBeth and Fighting with My Family. With this film, she has displayed a remarkable range for an actor that has yet to reach her mid-20s, nailing an emotionally complex starring role that requires heavy lifting and is yet another complete shift in characterization from her previous work. Pugh allows us to feel all of Dani’s hurt and confusion, making the character arc feel natural and real. She’s a star right now, not just in the making. Jack Reynor also announces his arrival for anyone unlucky enough to not have already been familiar with his work. His portrayal of an unsupportive, emotionally manipulative, selfish boyfriend is spot on and someone we’ve all observed or encountered. The realism of his and Dani’s relationship is a big component of Midsommar working successfully and Reynor and Pugh knock it out of the park, as do the supporting characters’ awkward observance of it all. Will Poulter’s role as Mark finds him embarking upon new territory for most audience members in a more comedic role which Poulter knocks out of the park. Mark provides some much needed levity with tons of inappropriate humor that also feels realistic as part of any friend group with a member that doesn’t always see where the line is with their boisterous personality.
Midsommar is one of the most suspenseful films of recent memory, masterfully building audience anticipation for what will happen next as we slowly watch the mysterious events and plans for our American tourists unfold. What’s especially notable about this effort from Ari Aster and what makes its horror so potent, is that the fear in Midsommar comes not from the supernatural or inexplicable, but from the very real aspects of human nature that lie within us all and which we all encounter at one point or another; vulnerability, susceptibility, and the capacity for both cruelty and brutality. The realism behind the experiences and the driving forces behind the terror inflicted upon the characters’ makes for a more visceral viewing experience. Visually, Midsommar is both inventive and substantive, featuring snappy angling and stimulating cinematography while also accentuating the narrative through subtle clues and hints at where the plot is taking us. Florence Pugh continues her meteoric rise as an actor, powering the film through her vulnerable portrayal of a young woman trying just trying to find her tribe. Jack Reynor is equally good in his detestable turn as the douchey boyfriend. The chemistry that he and Pugh bring forth is palpable and über-believable. Will Poulter’s comedic turn as Mark adding the perfect amount of levity to a film filled with creepy twists and turns. The film does drag slightly during the middle portion of its third act which, while a slight flaw, is still a good sign for a slow burning horror film with a two and a half hour run time. When combined with his previous effort in Hereditary, Ari Aster has officially announced himself as an upper echelon director with Midsommar.
Image: A24
