Wouldst thou like To live deliciously?’s review published on Letterboxd:
Holy shit. I had read the script months ago so I pretty much knew what we were getting but wow. Ari Aster is a demented, brilliant writer and a masterful director. Every shot contains amazing visuals and very carefully crafted. Its visually stunning. The cinematography and production design are beautiful. That being said as amazing as I think this is... this will be even more divisive than Hereditary. Casual movie goers will DESPISE this.
Midsommar tells the story of Dani, a young woman who has recently lost her family in a tragic event. She's dating Cristian and we're shown that relationship has been dead for a while and are just together for the sake of it. Nothing good comes out of it but they still wont let go. Cristian plans a trip with his friends and invites Dani to Sweden to go with them. They're going to an even that only happens every 90 years... they go there and little by little all hell breaks loose. We're on a slow ride to when the real freaky shit starts happening. A slow but enjoyable ride though. Once certain event happens in the movie, there's no going back. We're on a rollercoaster. Ari knows how to keep the audience at the edge of their seats for better or worse but he does.
Midsommar is not really a scary movie at all but its a freaking disturbing movie with a lot of "shocking" imagery that you're not prepared to even if you think you are. Without being a copy it is very similar in themes and some of its structure to The Wicker man. Beautiful landscapes, flowers, happy looking but freaky people, lots of singing, flowers and beautiful clothes. Aster described this as a Wizard of Oz for perverts. He was right. There is no devil here, no spirits, no ghosts, just pure human evil. That's what makes it more disturbing. There are no Pamons controlling people here. They're doing it on their own.
Florence Pugh is the real deal though. It wouldn't be fair to compare to Collette's performance in Hereditary because that is an all time great. That being said Pugh is brilliant here. You go thru her emotions as she's feeling them. She cements herself as one of the best young actresses working now. She has a lot of projects coming up. The supporting cast was good. Not much to do but Ari gets the best out of them. Will Poulter was a great addition as the comic relief. They're all good but its the Florence Pugh show and everyone else is just there. She is THAT good.
Casual movie goers will hate this. I went with the same group of people I watched Hereditary with. I knew they'd hate but I still took them with me. Guess what? THEY DESPISED it. They said they'd never go with me to another movie like this lol. That's all you need to know people wont respond well to this. Too weird and too out there for people who don't appreciate movies as a whole. Its production value, the visuals, the camera work, the performances etc etc. I'm expecting very low scores from the audience. Too sad because to me it was perfect.
Midsommar is a slow ride, a crazy fever dream that keeps getting weirder and weirder. Also a bit funny. Also a very long movie. It will be very divisive. That's my kinda movie! it reaffirms Ari Aster is a fresh voice in a sea of remakes, sequels, prequels and franchises. Im glad we have people like him and A24 that cares to provide fresh and different movies. Might be my favorite movie of the year so far. Cant wait to see what Ari Aster comes with after this. Cant wait to see what you guys thought about this movie.
PS: there might or there might not be a bear suit that made me think about Nic Cage in the wicker man lol. That was funny. Also there is something to learn from this: leave toxic relationships once you realize they're not good for you before it gets worse. This movie proves you cant keep going once something is not right anymore... you can end up in a bear suit if you don't do the right thing.
