Rating: 8.4
Alex Garland’s “Men” is one of the most unsettling and truly disturbing films I’ve seen in awhile — and yet I thought it was utterly fantastic and very compelling! Much like A24’s “Hereditary”, this film may be too much for mainstream audiences to handle, as while it is very well made, it can be very off-putting and creepy to such a degree that it can alienate some audiences. It also has very graphic moments of body horror that are extremely grotesque and frankly, weird. I say all this as a warning, as you need to know what you’re getting into with this one, and if you can handle it or not. While I like it more and more as I spend more time thinking about it, I really don’t think most audiences can handle this, and I also think that is why it’s not getting a great reception; not because it's bad but because it is making people extremely uncomfortable. This is an A24 horror movie, I went in expecting that and definitely felt it. But in a sense that just means the film did its job, it’s a horror movie that is truly scary without relying on the common conventions of the genre. This truly is a movie that gets under your skin and sits with you long after the credits roll.
I loved the writing in this movie, especially with the phenomenal use of symbolism and metaphor. Alex Garland has written and directed some excellent films, including one of my favourites of all time (“Ex Machina”), and he does a great job with the script once again. The writing is layered and vivid, with electric dialogue and has many clever payoffs. It has many shocks and tons of tension, but perhaps my favourite element is the ambiguity of it all. I love that Garland leaves so much to the audience to interpret for themselves; it defies any singular explanation and instead offers different meanings for many different viewers depending on their perspective. This leaves so much to dissect and discuss, especially when it comes to thematic analysis. The film is laden with symbolism, most notably the pagan image of “the green man”. I love how that was used in the story, especially to show the cycle of toxic masculinity; how bad attitudes and behaviors are passed down through generations of men, with past ages grievances about women still carried into the future — and how this creates something feeble and pathetic. This is mostly displayed in the shocking, grotesque and disturbing finale of the film, which suggests that scared boys become broken men, and the ugliness of previous generations is internalized by their children in the next. The film also explores gender roles in society and how these influence the way we think and process the world (with a focus on grief in the story) and it’s constructed with fascinating abstractions and allegory in both narrative and aesthetic elements. The film uses horrific imagery wonderfully to communicate its thesis, but I also appreciated that it still took the time to be a drama about one person dealing with the loss of their ex-husband, and the pain women can feel due to men. The film showcases some of the worst aspects of humanity and how those latch onto people and cause pain. It’s a lot to process, and some people may see these messages clearly and some may not, these are just some of what I got from the film.
Another standout element of the film was the world-class acting on display from Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear. Buckley was so good as Harper, delivering such a subdued and subtle performance that really lets you feel her character’s pain and fear. You truly feel like you are her at times, she’s excellent at subtly queuing the audience into what her character is thinking at a particular moment. Rory Kinnear was also insanely good and deserves so much praise for this film, it's the best I’ve ever seen him and he definitely didn’t have an easy job. Having to play multiple characters is hard enough, but the things the film demands of these characters is a lot for an actor to take on. I loved how he was able to transform himself with so much ease, changing his voice and movements to come off as a completely different person. The makeup team also perfectly assisted these transformations. I also love that they didn’t explain why all the men look the same in the movie, leaving us to question: is this literally the case, or is this how Harper sees it? Does Harper see all men the same while they are different or are they all the same and she doesn’t see it? It asks us, the audience, to answer this question and as I mentioned I quite like that the film leaves a lot to the viewer to answer for themselves.
Alex Garland’s direction here is indeed impeccable — his attention to detail and focus on subtlety is awesome, and the cinematography and look of the film is jaw dropping, mesmerizing you as you watch. Garland makes use of space so well, with much of the film taking place in one location and yet still feeling so eerie and tense. I also loved how he used sound; the soundtrack really helped to set the tone for many scenes alongside the immersive visuals. It’s a movie that had me disturbed and grossed out, so tense I was gripping the armrest of the seat I was in, and even in some of the most shocking and uncomfortable scenes I couldn’t look away. There are sequences in this film that are pretty much burned into my brain… I can’t believe what I saw in this film. The finale is insane, I’ve never seen anything quite like it before and was so disturbed yet intrigued to find out what it all meant. The film also works so well because it doesn’t play into those classic horror tropes, it finds new ways to scare us, offering a story that is a slow burn and uniquely unsettling as it builds into the ferocious 3rd act. This film has a lot going on thematically, and thankfully Garland’s strong direction is able to keep it all together.
While this may not be a home run for Alex Garland, I certainly think it's a very well done film. It's scarring and uncomfortable to watch, one I don’t even know if I could stomach to rewatch, but has enough important messages and thematic strength, alongside some really creative scares, to satisfy those who enjoy a typical A24 horror film. It certainly is not for everyone, nor do I recommend you watch it before understanding what you are about to see. It’s very good, but you have to be able to stomach it. I haven’t stopped thinking about the film since I saw it, it has some things that I have never seen before (and some I hope I never see again).
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IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%
RT Audience Score: 44%
Metacritic Score: 66
CinemaScore: D+
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A24
Written & Directed by Alex Garland
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin
Runtime: 1hr 40min
Rating: 18A
Drama, Horror
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A young woman goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside following the death of her ex-husband.
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Fun Fact: Alex Garland's third feature film that he has directed.
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