Midsommar (2019)

Director: Ari Aster

Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren

A couple travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown’s fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

From the moment I started watching ‘Midsommar’ I kinda knew I would be dissatisfied with the ending. I just had a feeling. I was right.

From the moment we meet our couple Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) we sense something off in their relationship, and this is confirmed by Christian’s friends Pelle, Josh and Mark wanting him to break up with her. But when Dani’s sister gasses herself and her parents, Christian is there to comfort Dani.

Without telling Dani, Christian and his friends planned to go to Sweden, but when she finds out, Christian invites her along, to the dismay of his friends. The uneasy feeling between Dani and the guys came across very strong, and effective.

Pelle is member of a Pagan cult, and he wanted his friends to be part of a once in a lifetime experience: a 9-day midsummer feast that takes place once every 90 years. Arriving at Pelle’s ancestral commune, it indeed seems like paradise at first, where one can be in harmony with nature. The film is very slow-paced as we explore the (weird) traditions of the cult, but I never found it boring. I believe the film is deliberately slow paced to create suspense.

And just like that unexpected moment in ‘Hereditary’, director Ari Aster once again shocks us with a disturbing turn of events. There are a few graphic moments I never really expected. As the nature of the cult is slowly revealed, Dani and Christian’s relationship is put to the test as their world becomes a living nightmare. (This is why I stay far away from any customs/traditions/rituals/cults…)

I won’t blame you for wanting to stop watching halfway through. I persevered purely out of curiosity, although in the back of my mind I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like where this is going. Nope, I didn’t. I was rooting for Dani almost throughout the movie, until I later rooted for Christian and ended up hating Dani. By the end I wished I’d never watched this.

Still, ‘Midsommar’ is a very well made movie with good camerawork and an excellent performance by Florence Pugh as Dani. The film is atmospheric and foreboding, with a haunting score. (And at least we get to see Jack Reynor in full frontal nude shots…). ‘Midsommar’ is for a select audience.

‘Midsommar’ earned $48 million on a $9 million budget, and received 101 award nominations, winning 27 including Best Horror/Sci-Fi Film, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Score, Best Screenplay, and Best Costume Design.

Would I watch it again? No.