Midsommar (Ari Aster, July 3, 2019) Movie • Page 50

Yeah because despite the criticism it's still a well made movie. And if it were any other director or if my expectations were lowered, I'd think it was pretty good.

But based on expectations and who the director was...I found it disappointing.

Although as I slept on it I think I was being too nice. I really hated the American characters and their horror movie "dumbness".

 

still very meh about this one but glad other people dig it I guess

 

The way he films the firefighters going into the house and their discovery is so good.

 

It seems like a lot of the criticism comes from the murder cult aspect of the film. But I always saw that stuff as secondary -- the movie is about Dani and her relationship with Christian. It's their dynamic and Dani's emotional journey that makes this movie so great, imo

 

If that was the case then I don't think the movie did a great job developing that at all. I felt no connection to that aspect of the movie at all, which makes me think it wasn't developed effectively

 

I'm not sure if we're talking about the same movie here

 

I also didn’t watch the entire first act of the film.

 

I had a friend who thought Hereditary was “super whatever” (I know) and compared it to Paranormal Activity (again.. I know) so was really surprised when I showed him Midsommar last weekend and he enjoyed it, said he liked it a lot better than Hereditary.

 

I usually describe this movie to others as a relationship/break up movie that takes place in a horror setting

 

I rewatched it Friday night visiting friends who hadn’t seen it. Wonderful viewing experience.

 

Yeah, was gonna say something like this. It's more akin to Aronofsky, Refn, and von Trier dramas that do horror-y stuff. First viewing of Midsommar is tense for sure, but second viewing for me (albeit w/ added stuff in director's cut) was really all about Dani's relationship and how terrible the other outsiders were.

 

we are, i didn't really care for it but you did, that's the difference. I dont think what they did i the first 20 minutes of the movie really helped develop the relationship you're talking about, or at least, it didn't develop it enough to make it the central theme of the movie. We've seen this trope in horror movies a billion times, and the way they did this one, didn't feel all that special or unique enough to satisfy a pretty 'meh' central plot.

 

well, like i mentioned before, if that's the case, then i definitely don't think the movie did a good job of that at all. We spend a lot of the movie on other characters that have nothing to do with that theme at all, and a majority of the movie, at least through my eyes, was focused on the main characters grief and not feeling "lonely" at home. I think we could've delved more into that in the first part of the movie... but idk, if that was the case, there was a LOT of other stuff in this movie that had nothing to do with that.

 

The movie starts with her screaming her head off in his lap and ends with her choosing to sentence him to death over some random guy she doesn't know at all. You can say you didn't like the movie, whatever idc, but you're kinda just...objectively wrong that that isn't the central part of the film?

Basically everything that happens in the movie is in relation to those two and their dynamic, and builds towards that final moment where she lets go of him for good. The redhead tempting Christian, Christian stealing Chidi's thesis, the cult friend wanting to bring Dani in, the British characters existing as a contrast to their relationship (which isn't even subtle - Dani explicitly makes the comparison multiple times). Even the death of Dani's family serves more as a catalyst for putting the two of them in that dynamic to begin with.

If you think the majority of the movie is just about Dani's grief then I would genuinely recommend going back and watching it again. The conversations Dani and Christian have don't tell you much of anything about her grief, but they say a whole lot about their relationship and how he's so awful at being there for her as she goes through that grief. He doesn't care about her, and he's bad at hiding it, but he pities her and strings her along in her moment of weakness because he's more concerned about being perceived as an asshole for dumping her than he is concerned about her actual wellbeing. Dani is depressed and vulnerable and has nobody else to comfort her, so she hangs on to Christian because for the time it feels better than nothing. Over the course of the film, these issues bubble up and turn their conversations from awkward and passive aggressive (Christian trying to act like he told Dani about the trip) to actively hostile (Dani straight up saying she could see Christian ditching without telling her). That's the arc of the film.

 

I like how when Dani blows out the candle on Christian’s birthday cupcake, she makes a similar “breathe in breathe out” sound as the cult members do in their rituals.

 

For some reason this all reminds me of when my friend said Hereditary was garbage because the son should have been arrested for manslaughter and the movie would have ended right there.

 

I always wondered why he was never in legal trouble

 

One, because it’s so clearly an accident. I think without the cooperation of the parents wanting to press charges and make it a legal thing, it would be a shitshow proceeding.

Two, it’s a movie.

 

From what I read of the script, there was more of a focus on how absolutely alone Dani feels, which is the real connecting point between her personal tragedy, her shitty relationship, and the pseudo family of the cult.

I wish they spent a little more time on that emotional loneliness, but it does come through.

 

I don't think it's a strong enough arc if that's the case. If that's the central theme of the film, then either I dont think the movie did a good enough job developing that idea or the movie didn't do a good enough job to make me care. Or it's just not a theme that justifies the other faults of the film. I'm sorry I'm wrong I guess

 

It’s essentially the whole point of the ending, though.