Escape to the C*nty

Men (Alex Garland, 2022)

Delayed checking out Alex Garland's recent offering since his previous film, Annihilation (2018), was an overrated pile of tripe in the wake of his Black Mirror-esque directorial debut, Ex Machina (2014). The synopsis of Men, his latest effort, isn't exactly a rush out and see kind of movie since it sounds like another cash in on the trend to bash men. The backfire generated by it earned some good will here at Dada Debaser. So, here we are. In truth, some of  the criticism is fairly valid, and for reasons addressed further on, it's worth mansplaining why it's a deeply flawed, yet  thoroughly entertaining work. Rather than devote the typical line or two in a monthly 'Viewings' post, it's worth going over it in a dedicated review, as it's the strangest new film this blog has watched so far this year; taking into account Cronenberg's recent Crimes of the Future.

Jessie Buckley plays Harper, a widow renting an idyllic house in the country to spend time recovering from the suicide of her abusive partner, James (Paapa Essiedu). This tranquil place of solitude is populated and interrupted by male locals all played by Rory Kinnear. The fact that all of these characters with Kinnear's face are either traumatic projections in Harper's mind, or actual villagers, is largely ambiguous.What isn't open to interpretation however, is that these characters treat Harper in a variety of misogynistic ways; ranging from passively aggresive to physically violent. Perhaps the most on point character, is Kinnear's local vicar, a predatory and judgemental character with more than a passing resemblance to Angus Scrimm's The Tall Man from Phantasm (1979).

Garland overloads the film with a heavy handed use of symbolism associated with rebirth; from a beautifully shot scene where a dandelion seed gracefully falls into the rotten carcass of a deers's eye socket, to the overtly biblical reference of Harper eating an apple. There's a folk horror element which marries the film's gender politics, with an ancient oxymoron; the Green Man, a pagan symbol of rebirth. Kinnear plays this character stark bollock naked with twigs and leaves on his face. The Green Man is also referenced in one scene as a stone carving on a church font. The character plays an integral part in the closing chapters of the film. The grotesque scenes of Kinnear's various incarnations reborn are best described as a Cronenbergian Matryoska doll. The film's jumping of the shark point, for many.

Call it an intelligence test, but if Men isn't a black comedy than Dada Debaser doesn't know what to tell the film's way-too-serious detractors. It's impossible not to realise this rationale. Not a spoiler, but the scene where James falls to his death while staring at Harper is very reminisant of classic Wile E. Coyote. There's also the aforementioned multiple roles played by Kinnear, which feel like a twisted amalgamation of Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) with The League of Gentlemen (1999-2002). The failure to grasp this tone says more about the typical IMDb flotsam and Letterboxd jetsam. However, to a certain extent, these largely illiterate brainlets do have a valid reason to criticise Garland's misguided pretensions, since his film masquarades a simple tale and burdens it with grandiose art house sensibilities. Much like Kinnear's love handles, there's a lot of unnecessary fat in this film. Thus, Men rewards any serious audience investment with a bewildering grossfest for its finale, which might come across as an insulting waste of time to the viewer. Hence the disdain.

In summary, Men is not a great film, but still a good one, regardless. With the current spate of British folk-horror which seems to have become the vogue since the pandemic, Garland's effort is undoubtely one of the most entertaining offerings. Sadly, it could have been even better if it wasn't so much up its own arse like the rest of its peers.

Props to Messrs Kim Newman and Peter Bradshaw for spotting the Kind Hearts and Coronets connection as well. Bradshaw gets extra credit for the Rory Kinnear with Dick Emery comparison.