Movie Review: Midsommar
SPOILER ALERT: Though this film has been out for a few years now, it has elements that can definitely be spoiled. I’ll avoid overt plot spoilers, but I always encourage watching a film before coming back and fully engaging with a review.
There is a key moment in Ari Aster’s 2019 film, Midsommar, when a group of people watch something horrific happening and work themselves into a frenzy. They mimic without empathy. It is all a spectacle. I think it may just be the most important moment in terms of understanding this film.
That is most certainly not the first horrific moment to appear on screen. From the film’s very beginning - shots of natural vistas interpolated into shots of cold, windswept exteriors - we feel dread. That doesn’t let up at all once we begin to learn about Dani (Florence Pugh), the film’s main character.
She is dating Christian (Jack Reynor) but we sense that all is not well with their relationship. Christian’s friends make that case quite starkly, especially Mark (Will Poulter). Josh (William Jackson Harper) thinks she is taking away from his ability to select a topic for his thesis. They are joined by Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren).
Part of their reasoning is that Dani is too emotionally needy. Dani worries about this, herself, as she explains to her friend over the phone. Is she putting too much on Christian? No, her friend says, if he is truly her partner he will support her. And Dani needs support - more than she even knows in the moment.
You see, Dani’s sister has made disturbing claims before. She is not well. But she sent Dani a particularly ominous message that has Dani worried. She calls Christian. She is reassured that this is just another outburst. It is not.
Pugh’s acting in this film is visceral. When Dani calls Christian next, all we hear is a wail from the other end. You have never heard a performance quite like this one. Aster has a history of getting great work out of his actresses, most notably Toni Collette in Hereditary. Pugh continues the track record with her own distinction here.
The film skips ahead and Dani remains with Christian. Any thoughts he had of ending the relationship have been put on hold. In fact, to try to make her happy, he flouts the opinions of his friends and invites her on their trip to Sweden to see Pelle’s small community and their annual celebration.
They arrive and begin taking mushrooms from the very beginning. The community is awash in light as it is the time of year when darkness only comes near midnight. The boys, particularly Josh, are there for educational purposes - Josh’s thesis will cover this community as well as others they plan to visit in Europe. Even so, we’re not quite sure of what is going on.
My biggest frustration with the film is that - at key moments - characters seem to be oblivious. Things that would be dealbreakers for any of us seem to fall by the wayside. And yet…
…how often over the course of human history have people overlooked evil that seems obvious in the light of day?
Interviews with Aster after the film’s release revealed his goal to speak to the scourge of evil that ravaged parts of Europe in the 20th century. Here we have an insular community that carries out works of evil in the light of day. The effects are there for our characters to see. However, through ambivalence or ineptitude, our characters are no match for the evil around them.
Various issues arise as the film continues. Josh and Christian become rivals over their educational pursuits. Dani’s trauma and her relationship with Christian become core threads that loom large over the proceedings we see before us. And the Harga - this community that seems wholly foreign to us - show themselves to be more than what is visible on the surface.
In our world of internet chat rooms and insular communities, it can feel safe to retreat into smaller and smaller groups. However, our inability to check ourselves against the elements of evil in our familiar spaces comes at our own peril.
Critical thinking has come for criticism in parts of our own culture. There is a reticence to criticize our in-groups. A famous quote from Teddy Roosevelt - in my opinion - often gets taken out of context. The critic who rails against the man in the arena deserves skepticism. However, the art of criticism should not be burned alive because of this. Our in-groups deserve a watchful eye. Without it, horrible things happen.
I will not divulge what happens in the remainder of the plot. It does not do to reveal such things. But Aster uses those horrors to powerful effect. The way we interpret a smile says far more about us than it does about this film.
Religion and biological inheritance hold a great deal of sway over our lives. We are often beholden to these ties that bind. But those ties should never preclude us from questions and doubts. It is out of these questions and doubts that we steel ourselves against the evil that would take advantage of our allegiances.
When things feel off, we should consider whether or not they truly are. In fighting the forces of evil, we must never become that against which we fight. There are powers in our world that incentivize us to work ourselves into a frenzy by mistreating and even killing our fellow human beings. We must not give in to this.
We must break the cycle.
NOTE ON CONTENT: This film is rated rated R for disturbing ritualistic violence and grisly images, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language. It has disturbing images that are meant to shock. I believe that is the point. If we are not to be shocked by these images, we risk falling into the same trap that so many did over the last century. True evil is in our midst. We must recognize it while we can. Atrocities like the Holocaust come from our inability to speak out when we have the chance. Our hearts must remain tender. Because of the shocking elements in this film, it is clearly not appropriate for young audiences. However, for viewers of a certain age and maturity, I think this film will generate important discussions.