I know a lot of the praise and discussion for Midsommar is (rightfully) being placed on the crux of the film that takes place in Sweden and I know that this isn’t what most people loved about it but I have to say; that first act (everything up until they arrive in Sweden) just blew me the fuck away. One of the most turbulent, emotionally rich and deeply harrowing but immediately engaging first acts I’ve ever seen. Masterfully filmed and edited (this obviously goes for the whole film), I was sitting in my chair physically shaking, absolutely radiating with fear and anger and numbness for Dani. While I loved almost every part of Midsommar that first act is absolute perfection that had me hooked on every frame. It planted seeds of a deep, painful empathy I had for Dani and an uncontrollable anger inside me on her behalf that really affected my journey with her through the rest of the film. Like I said it loved it all but it’s almost a shame that the first act up until they get to Sweden was so utterly and gut-wrenchingly perfect because for me personally, everything else paled in comparison.