Men

Alex Garland's Men is a movie of quiet emotional power and suspense for about 70 minutes or so, then it dives off the deep end.  I'm not saying that the images Garland employs in the film's final moments are not memorable, or that it goes wrong in any terrible way.  It just seems like the last half belongs in a different movie from the first.  What starts as a true nightmare ends in a rush of special effects that overwhelm everything that came before it.

And yet, we have some strong performances here, and a few moments that are truly disquieting before it all changes course.  Jessie Buckley is sublime as Harper, a woman vacationing in the English Countryside in order to escape her past and a personal tragedy concerning her husband (Paapa Essiedu) that still haunts her.  The flashbacks concerning the events that led up to this, as well as the scenes where Buckley plays up the guilt and the anger are finely acted and constructed.  The film's opening scene depicts the moment in question, and immediately grabs our attention because of how masterfully and dream-like Garland depicts it.  As we witness flashbacks of events that led up to it, they continue to instill confidence in the audience that this will be a serious and thoughtful look at how people can manipulate or dominate a relationship without even attempting to, and the lasting effect it has on the victim.

The area she decides to vacation in is one of those isolated small towns you see often in movies, where the population is made up mostly of oddballs and weirdos who seemingly become even stranger when the sun goes down.  The fact that a majority of the people she encounters are all played by the same person (Rory Kinnear, also excellent) only adds to the weirdness.  And yes, there is a reason why so many of these roles are played by one actor.  Surrounded by these creeps, including a naked man who is supposedly stalking her, and with her only source to the outside world being her sister (Gayle Rankin) whom she communicates with over video chats on her phone (naturally, the connection is terrible in this town), she can't help but kind of descend into madness and guilt as these weird events keep on piling up.

And yet, Men does not go the route you would expect, and I have to give Garland credit for that.  He could have easily gone for a supernatural or "dream" explanation, but he keeps on reminding us that what poor Harper is experiencing is very much real.  She's not crazy, nor is she losing her grip.  She's simply being forced to come face first with the manipulation and cruelty that she has had to endure most of her life in the form of some very strange locals.  I was with this, and the film's idea of exploring toxic masculinity through these means.  But as the film's climax started to play out, I realized that Garland was kind of throwing subtlety to the window, and just going for shocks and over the top gory effects.  I will not delve deep into what happens, but I will say that anyone who sees this will certainly be talking about the last half, either praising it to the skies, or wondering what the hell it was all supposed to mean.

I will be honest, reader, I was a bit lost as it played out, and I had to look up some interviews with Garland as to what the ending was supposed to represent after it was over.  So, if you're left a bit dumbfounded by this movie, I won't blame you.  Thinking back on the film, I don't know if I can label this a complete success, but I also can't deny that the movie has some wonderful moments up until the climactic ones.  I was actually with this one more when it was trying to be mysterious, rather than it was just going into bat crap crazy mode.  I know there will be people who will embrace this movie fully, as there should be.  There will also be plenty who will see this as a prestige horror film that flies off the rails, as again, there should be.  I have a feeling that the director wants to spark debate and conversation, and he certainly will.

I liked a majority of Men, so I am recommending it, but if you check out during the final moments, I won't blame you.  I was intrigued enough to keep following it, but will admit that I liked the subtle and creepy moments better than when the movie is just throwing weirdness in our face.

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