This is the kind of thought-provoking, mind-bending, ambitious film I’ve come to expect from Alex Garland. Though it may not be my favorite of his efforts, this is still an excellent film and one that I will be re-watching many times over.
“Men” follows the journey of Harper (Jessie Buckley) who decides to go on a retreat to the English countryside following the traumatic death of her abusive husband (Paapa Essielu). There she meets many men (all played by Roy Kinnear), from all ages and different walks of life. The men in this town seem to have it out against her, and slowly begin tormenting her existence.
Whether all these men are the same person (or entity), as they appear to be, or whether Harper sees all these men as the same due to the traumatic experiences she has had with her husband is up for interpretation. While I lean towards the latter, this is a film where you can really conjure up some crazy ideas. Many have criticized this film for being overly feminist or unreasonably harsh on men, as no man in this film genuinely helps Harper; however, it doesn’t seem as though the film is trying to make any overt statements on such topics. Rather, everything we see in the film is through the eyes of the emotionally distraught Harper, and the film is more interested in having us understand her trauma and how her past experiences bleed into her relationship with other men. Even more interesting is how the film deals with her moving on from this trauma in an absolutely bonkers third act that I can’t fein understanding.
As many who have seen the trailer can assume, this film also has a lot to do with Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. The film is full of biblical imagery which was quite lost to my Hindu brain. I can only assume that the film was trying to show how toxic masculinity and attitudes towards females has been perpetuated through generations of men via religion. How all of this fits into the film is something I’m still trying to figure out, but that’s part of the fun of watching films like this.
I suspect many will be put off by the ending, but this isn’t a film of easy answers. Moreover, it’s meant to have you ask questions and think on it long after you’ve left the theater. I went to go see this with a friend of mine, and I loved the conversations we had after it ended. We were both speechless and scratching our heads, and it was easily became the film we have talked the most about this year.
The cinematography of this film is also magnificent. Flashback conversations that Harper has with her husband are bathed in a reddish orange. While this is mimicked with the countryside home Harper goes to whose walls are colored red (a potential nod to Bergman’s “Cries and Whispers”). Another prominent color that stands out is the green of the garden and forest, which beautifully contrasts the reds.
I also loved the film’s haunting vocal score by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury. That tunnel scene as Harper sings into the echoing tunnel is still stuck in my head.
The pacing of the film is also on point, editor Jake Roberts slowly ratchets up the tension and looming sense of danger until all hell breaks loose.
Jessie Buckley and Ray Kinnear do a great job at portraying their roles. It’s not often that you see one actor playing multiple roles; however, Kinnear absolutely knocks it out of the park and is convincing in all of his avatars. Buckley gives a stellar performance as a woman who is dealing with her traumatic and abusive past. I wish we could have gotten to know more about her, but Buckley gives this character her all.
Garland has done a magnificent job at helming this film. Though it is being marketed as a horror film, it’s hard to really confine this to any one genre. Garland seamlessly blends between the dramatic, spiritual, and horrific to make something which deserves to be seen and talked about.
