Midsommar

by Philip Price

Director: Ari Aster
Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor & Vilhelm Blomgren 
Rated: R
Runtime: 2 hours & 27 minutes 

Now is the time to speak clearly. This seems to be writer/director Ari Aster's thoughts on the horror genre when approaching his follow-up to last year's breakout genre flick, “Hereditary.” Speaking clearly in that almost every scene in “Midsommar” post-title card takes place in the blazing daylight of rural Sweden where the sun seemingly only sets for less than a handful of hours during the summer. In a film that features some of the gnarliest death scenes I've seen, violence so blunt it will make you think Aster is collaborating with S. Craig Zahler, and a third act so twisted and bizarre it will make you question just how twisted and bizarre you are for sitting through it, “Midsommar” somehow manages to also be a story about Florence Pugh's Dani and her learning how to be both an independent and strong woman who takes control of her own destiny for what is maybe the first time in her life. It just so happens that it takes ancient rituals and bizarre competitions at the hands of a pagan cult to bring these qualities forward.

Pugh is great by the way, as is Jack Reynor, but Pugh's portrayal of Dani as this person who relies on people and then relies on more people about how much she relies on others is truly psychologically draining and emotionally concerning. Upon arriving in Sweden, the clock begins to count down almost immediately as we know something terrifying is coming even if we have no idea where the movie is going. It's almost like a J.J. Abrams "mystery box" scenario of sorts, but one that is sure of itself in that it packs actual resolutions and meaning into its narrative.

The experience of “Midsommar” building toward its third act and unraveling accordingly is, much like the cinematography, one of the purest and most precise exercises in tension I've witnessed in some time. Did it need to be nearly two and half hours? Probably not as it really begins to feel its length near the end, but it also tends to build at such a natural pace that it's hard to say what the film could have gone without. All things considered I was fascinated by everything within the frame here as well as everything between the lines, but while I could see watching this a second time solely for perspectives sake and knowing what to look for past the surface I doubt there would ever be a desire to see or experience it again.