Men - 💥💥💥

Director: Alex Garland 

Writer: Alex Garland

Release Date: 1st June 2022

Hot Rating: 💥💥💥

Synopsis: Recent widow Harper (Jessie Buckley), holidays in the British countryside after her abusive partner James (Pappa Essideu) commits suicide. However, the idyllic setting is not all it seems; Harper is plagued by increasingly unsettling male interactions, from the owner of the country manor she is staying in, to a snarky priest who she seeks advice from. Rory Kinear plays all these male roles, an abstract feature that is never acknowledged by our protagonist, but remains an enigmatic force over the viewer. Violence and vehement Britishness ensues. 

Review: In Garland’s folk horror, the grass appears greener and the woods look darker, swept up into a horrific fantasy. Cinematographer Rob Hardy expertly captures this scenery and Harper’s flashbacks in vivid horror using a bold, expressive colour palette. Stil, a film cannot survive on aesthetics alone, a point that Men highlights in its bloated conclusion. Undoubtedly, the film leaves room for interpretation, but it also presents images that are purposefully opaque. Viewing these enigmas will naturally be exciting for some, and unappealing to others. While I align more with the former, I still left Men with a sense of dissatisfaction; that for all the eerie build-up there wasn’t actually much to uncover. Kinnear and Buckley are, nonetheless, brilliant in their respective central roles. In another life, Men would make a great piece of experimental two-hander. My only request is that you keep these two leads —and trim those final scenes… 

Image: YouTube