Midsommar (Ari Aster, July 3, 2019) Movie • Page 16

I wouldn’t cite random people talking about a movie here, Facebook, or Twitter as a collection of esteemed critics either, much as I love everyone here.

 

I didn’t do that either with the reddit opinion in the first place. Just said that it was near exactly what I thought of the movie.

 

Well a lot of that take ignores almost everything the movie is trying to do. It’s reading the wrong things and not engaging the movie for what it’s trying to do. Which, if it’s not the kind of movie you or the author connect with, fine, but it’s actively ignorant of the film’s language and aims.

 

I don’t have an issue with people disagreeing with the opinion itself but you were being reductive as if an opinion from reddit isn’t even worth reading, which is dismissive and pointless.

 

I reserve the right to be reductive of random reddit posts. That one especially confirmed my bias. Sorry. I’m sure there are plenty of smart people engaging in fascinating conversations there, but there’s plenty of bullshit, so when anyone talks online reactions to a movie, a citation of a reddit post carries the same weight to me as a random Facebook comment. It’s not like pulling a Richard Brody or K. Austin Collins piece.

 

Obviously you’re free to do whatever you want, I just think it’s eyeroll worthy to look down on an opinion just because of where it was posted.

 

I do have one question. Let’s just assume that everyone played by the rules and made it to the end of the festivities. At least 4 of the newcomers would still need to be sacrificed. What would happen to the ones who weren’t? Are they just expected to live in that community? They definitely couldn’t go back to the public because they’d obviously contact the authorities. So, join or be killed? This obviously wasn’t an issue because the only survivor was Dani who is gonna stay but if all of them survived, then what?

 

I agree with what I think you’re implying, that the logic of the whole scenario doesn’t really make sense as a reoccurrence over however many years, but personally, I’m fine with suspending my own logic if other aspects of the movie works for me.

But since so many things didn’t work, something like what you’re saying or what @I Am Mick has mentioned a couple times is something that I’m fine with nitpicking.

 

I don’t even necessarily take issue with it, but I’m curious if it’s that thought out.

 

Oh okay, well I’d imagine they’d still kill the people but wouldn’t include them in the special sacrifice ceremony. Just murder and bury them maybe?

 

I kind of feel like for as much effort as he put into the setting/design of the movie, he didn't fully flesh out the story. It's all very convenient how it plays out.

Also, we find Chidi's leg sticking out of the ground at one point, but at the end his corpse still has both legs. Did they bury his entire body upside down for a day just to dig him up again? Why would they do that?

 

This is a movie where the imagery and the meaning of the visuals presented means more than moment to moment plot consistency.

 

I really adored a lot about this movie and I think I might even love it but I also feel that it’s completely fair for people to question certain plot elements. Those things didn’t bother me but I get why they might bother others. It’s not like this is a Malick film here, it’s still very much driven by narrative

 

Sure, but sometimes Malick is more driven by narrative than other times. It still has as much in common with Holy Motors as, like, the Witch

 

And I mean moment to moment plot details never matter that much to me. The Joker’s plan in the Dark Knight does not make sense, but it works the way it’s supposed to.

 

That’s my biggest issue with a lot of people’s interpretations with movies like these. Audiences generally, when presented with challenging concepts and interpretations of events, shut down and revert to criticizing the movie based on what they expected it to be, rather than the directors presentation.

 

Been so busy I won't get to see this for a while, but having read the script, it's really remarkable to me how well Ari Aster is able to completely isolate his main characters in a worst-case nightmare scenario at the end of his films. Not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually too. Dani kind of follows Peter's arc in Hereditary, but Peter's arc in that film is pure hopelessness. Here, it's hopeful in the most terrifying sense. The only people that actually empathize with her are the cult, and even then it's a primal, ritualistic empathy, which is more hellish than having nobody.

 

I believe Connie & Christian were the only “outsiders” that were fully intact at the end. Mark, Simon, and Chidi each had scarecrow bodies.

 

Are you sure? I actually checked to see if he was missing a leg and it looked like his actual feet, but I could be wrong.

 

Great read and I completely agree.

I am glad this movie wasn’t straight up horror, but it is still very much horrific and very entertaining. Ari built a world and viewers fucking LIVE in it.

 

this film could have been a good 50 mins shorter

 

it’s very possible.

 

i wouldn’t mind if this movie was longer lol

 

I want to be clear, when I say this is too long I don’t mean there’s too many scenes, there’s too much going on or even a two and half hour run time is too long. I mean every individual scene goes on way longer than it should. I read a few of the things that were cut, and I would have liked to see them. Cut a minute or two (or three...) from each scene and then add the cut scenes the “water ritual” and supposedly more Bear stuff? with the same run time and it would probably be great. It just consistently overstays it’s welcome every 10 minutes or so.

 

This movie was perfect I wanna see it again.

And also yes Reddit is bad, don't post stuff from there