Film Review — Men (2022)
★★★★☆
Retreating to the countryside in the wake of a personal tragedy, a woman’s experiences with a group of eerily similar men turn into a nightmare.
Infused with a folk horror aesthetic in the same vein as Ari Aster’s Midsommar, Alex Garland’s ambitiously metaphorical Men is a potent exploration of grief from a female perspective. It won’t be for those seeking a more straightforward viewing experience, but it’s nowhere near as divisive or indecipherable as some have claimed.
At its core, Men tackles the themes of spousal abuse, the guilt survivors may find themselves processing, and the challenges some face in empathising with them. Garland intentionally dispenses with the nuance of these usually complicated issues to dial up the horror aspects and does so to great effect. The sustained feeling of despair and looming terror felt through Jessie Buckley’s exceptional performance is a large part of what made this such an effective experience.
Visually this is a striking effort. A simplistic, oversaturated colour palette plays a pivotal role in reincorporating themes in a way I’ve not seen done so well in a long time. Several images, particularly those featuring Buckley’s contorted expressions of horror, are irrevocably etched in memory. If the idea was to brew feelings of unease and dread, this is an unqualified success.
I won’t lie; there are moments, ideas and visuals that went clean over my head. Garland is guilty of loading his film with a level of vagueness that wasn’t really needed, and this is probably the main reason so many struggled to connect with its message.
But what I don’t know or understand, I seek to change through education and/or conversation. If more of us adopt that open mindset, we’ll all slowly begin to step away from this hypothetical nightmare.
If you haven’t already, consider hitting that follow button for more reviews and crap opinions on film. It doesn’t cost anything and will give me that essential dopamine hit and motivation to keep writing. But mostly the dopamine.
You can also find me on Letterboxd where I try (and mostly fail) to keep up with the kids and their witty meme reviews. You know the kind.
