Midsommar is a 2019 horror film about a women who goes to Sweden with friends for a festival that happens every 90 years.
Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) have been a couple for several years. However, right when he wants to end the relationship, a tragic event happens in Dani’s family. Therefore, breaking up with her is going to be really hard for him to do. To make matters worse, he ends up inviting her on a trip to Sweden that he had planned with his other friends way before this happened. They are joined by Mark (Will Poulter), Josh (William Jackson Harper), and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) for a festival in Sweden that only happens every 90 years. After being introduced to the other inhabitants of this tribe and taking part in some of their finer recreational medicines, everyone is than invited to attend a rather odd retirement party, and after that things become even stranger.
Midsommar is the second feature from director Ari Aster. His debut movie, Hereditary was met with polarizing reviews and the same can be said with this one. Setting a horror film entirely during the day time is a really cool concept and there are moments in this that are truly horrific and not easy to watch. But as I’m watching, I have no understanding of what any character’s motivations are. All I know is that Dani had a tragedy, Christian wants to break up with Dani, but now feels guilty about it. Josh wants to write a report on the place and I think Mark is hoping to get laid while Pelle is just glad to be with family. The Swedish family I’m guessing is just hoping their itinerary goes as planned. After all, they did bring in a big black bear for the event.
The actors all do a fine job but there isn’t one single moment where they really make a show of it. Remember that one moment from Hereditary with Toni Collete at the dinner table? I was hoping for something that would top that or even come close, yet I got neither. Florence Pugh is the only one who has any range of emotions while the others can only express being angry, being confused, and being high.
The biggest comparison one could make with this movie would be The Wicker Man. Not the Nicholas Cage, “The Bees Not The Bees” version, but the 1973 original starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee. Even if you know the outcome, How it gets to that section is still very captivating and it still manages to surprise me when I watch it. Although Midsommar had moments that indeed startled me. The ending wasn’t as shocking as I’m sure the director wanted it to be. But then again, to someone else, it may be. I also was thinking of Eli Roth‘s Hostel with the concept of American’s preconception of foreign countries and having that notion get twisted for them.
Midsommar is a movie that needs to be watched more than once, not because you may have missed something in the plot. There is a lot of symbolism in this that I’m sure will be analyzed from critics way smarter than me. It has beautiful cinematography and as years go by, I may look back and consider this a masterpiece. But for now, it’s only really good.