Men

My anticipation for this film has been similar to the previous A24 films - low expectations, not really knowing what I'm in for however, so far the first two that I've seen have reached my top 10 so I wondered what this film will do for me. And as of right now, I am still processing what I've just watched.

Starting off with the positives, easily the best thing about the film is the visual side of it. From the countryside setting which is beautiful to look at, certain imagery which can feel creepy at times and especially the ending where gory events take place, and I've no idea whether CGI or practical effects were used but it looked so real.

Next on my list, the performances are fantastic. Jessie Buckley is able to carry this film all the way to the end and she does an incredible job with it.

Rory Kinnear pretty much has the most work to do since he is playing so many different characters which I will further talk about later on but from an acting stand point, they were incredible to watch.

I also loved the sense of dread and atmosphere amongst this film. The scene tunnel that is usually featured on the posters is the best standout. Just that one scene was able to show the eeriness this film reaches and during the night scenes, you just get the sense of how bad things are going to get. Wherever Jessie Buckleys character goes, nowhere feels safe whether its day or night. 

Even the use of lighting I just loved. From the creepy use of colour, to the uncomfortable use of darkness.

Revisiting my thoughts on the film, I think I do actually like the writing and storytelling for the film. Without going into spoilers, the reasons for Jessie Buckleys character going to the country house, her experiences all throughout and the non linear style approach in particular enable the feeling of a very well crafted and at times clever and thematic story of guilt.

However I did have some big problems with this film but let's moved into the mixed aspects first.

The only thing to talk about here is the pacing. Now this is a very slowly paced film and that works in its favour for some well executed build ups of tension. Unfortunately some scenes seem to go on for longer than they should and the first half does feel a bit too drawn out.

Now let's move onto the negatives. 

Now as much as I really liked the storytelling style, one aspect I didn't get is Rory Kinnear portraying all the men in the village of the film. I don't understand the artistic merit in that. Now it does lead to some creepy performances but the different wigs, fake facial hair and prosthetics just lead to some unintentional humour and it just took me away from the film at times. It also features Rory Kinnears face badly CGI-ed onto a 14 year old and wow, that was so distracting

Next, as much as I loved the look, some of the imagery was a bit much for me. I have a very strong stomach and have seen some very gory films in my life but some of the imagery especially towards the end was a bit much for me, I'll admit.

My biggest issue with this film is it portrays every man in this film as a misogynist. 

Now please do not take my words out of context. I'm very supportive of women and equal rights. I'm not someone who gets offended by women's views on patriarchal issues and the fact that some men have a very negative attitude towards women. That's not the reason I did not like the approach in this film. The reason I didn't like it first of all is because Rory Kinnear is portraying nearly all the men in this film, it becomes very predictable.

Second, it creates a metaphorical message that all men are the same and it is not just because of the characters Kinear portrays. All the other men in the film commit acts against women and it would have felt refreshing to have at least one other man in this film who doesn't hold misogynistic views or commit such actions against women so that it would have evened the film out a bit more. 

Thirdly, and I do understand there are some horrible evil misogynist men out there in the world but imagining a woman watching this film, if they're able to understand it of course; I think it would be pretty damaging to view a film that tells us "Men don't respect women", and that alone.

It also doesn't help that some of the dialogue does feel very preachy at times, in particular with a scene between Jessie Buckleys character and a vicar and I do feel these sorts of stories are always best told in a more subtle way so audiences don't feel like they're being preached at.

And finally whilst this film does feel very grounded in reality, there's some supernatural and let's just say unrealistic events during the third act that felt very out of place.

Overall this is a frustrating film because it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The more I think about it, I start to like it even more and there is a lot to admire performance wise, filmmaking wise and storytelling wise but it's mainly the message it attempts to convey, and certain creative choices that went a bit far for me and the third act does fall apart from reality.