Movie Review: Midsommar (2019)

Midsommar (2019) written and directed by Ari Aster

Dani (Florence Pugh) is the very needy girlfriend of Christian (Jack Reynor), though not without some justification. Her sister is more troubled than she is (the sister has a bipolar disorder) and, right at the beginning of the film, the sister kills herself and their parents. Dani is devastated and Christian, who has been looking for a way out of the relationship, is very supportive in spite of his misgivings. He's an anthropology student who hangs out with three other students. One member of the group, Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), is from Sweden and is going home for a special summer festival in his small, remote town. He invites the other guys. Christian tells them he's extended an invitation to Dani, which they are disappointed with (they also want the couple to break up). She hems and haws about the trip but goes anyway. They have a long drive north from Stockholm in mid-June. On the outskirts of town they are greeted by the young people of the village who are getting high before getting to town. Dani reluctantly joins in the drug-taking. Once they get to town, the nine-day festival starts with a lot of folksy activities. Things take a darker turn when one of the rituals has an old couple jump to their deaths from a local cliff while everyone watches. The outsiders are horrified and some want to leave, but there is no leaving this festival.

The movie follows in the tradition of The Wicker Man, presenting a pre-Christian society whose superficially charming surface masks a much darker, much grimmer situation. The locals are very welcoming but not forthcoming about what is about to happen. They seem oblivious to how outsiders will view their ceremonies. Since the visitors are anthropology majors, they bend over backwards trying not to judge their acitons even when the locals do clearly barbaric things. Their attitude leaves them stuck in a trap they probably could have escaped. Instead, they become entrenched in the proceedings, leading to a horrible ending.

While the movie is well crafted and acted, I have a hard time finding a justification for watching it. The mystery is sort-of interesting but if you have seen The Wicker Man, you know exactly where this is going. Dani and Christian are sort-of sympathetic, though she really needs a therapist and he needs some backbone and a lot more honesty with other people. A lot of the situations are very preposterous and only drug-induced stupidity could possibly explain why people went along with the bizarre ceremonies. After watching the film, I read online that people in Sweden laughed at this film as a black comedy (because it really has nothing from the Swedish Midsommar festivities) rather than shuddered at it as a visceral horror. The Swedish probably have the right attitude toward the film, though I doubt the filmmakers share that attitude.

Not recommended, unless you want to see a second-rate Wicker Man.

The movie's religious implications are discussed in this article from Word on Fire.