Men (2022)

Greetings again from the darkness. This is only the third feature film directed by Alex Garland, but his creativity and innovative nature in the first two (EX MACHINA, 2014 and ANNIHILATION, 2018) established him as a writer-director to follow. His latest is certainly deserving of those descriptions, yet it's also less assessable while being more open to interpretation and worthy of discussion. Reactions from viewers are sure to be varied.

Jessie Buckley, one of the finest actors working today, takes on the lead role in yet another of her unconventional projects. We absolutely respect and admire her risk-taking, and each project benefits from her presence. Some of her recent work includes THE LOST DAUGHTER (2021), I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (2020), WILD ROSE (2018), and a great arc in the "Fargo" series (Season 4). Here she stars as Harper, a Londoner heading to holiday in the English countryside after the death of her husband. When she arrives at her bucolic Airbnb manor, the serenity is apparent ... right up until she meets Geoffrey, the landlord. He's played by Rory Kinnear (Tanner in the recent James Bond movies, and excellent in the "Penny Dreadful" series and its spinoff). Geoffrey's awkward social skills involve colloquialisms and country charm to ensure that Harper knows she's no longer in London.

The country manor is walking distance to town (which apparently consists of a church and pub), and sits alongside a forest, seemingly perfect for nature hikes. Harper's first walk in the woods has a fascinating scene as she experiments with the echoes of a tunnel by singing notes in harmony with herself. This simple pleasure ends when she notices a nude man apparently stalking her. After calling the local police, she heads to the church where she encounters a rude boy and a vicar who is unsympathetic to her plight. All of these interactions could fit into an interesting story, but filmmaker Garland takes things to another level. Geoffrey, the stalker, the cop, and the vicar are all played by Rory Kinnear ... even the boy! Later, we see that Kinnear even plays the pub's clientele. Since it's obvious to us, and she doesn't seem to notice, we can assume this is a major clue for how we are to interpret what's happening with (and to) Harper.

Flashbacks are employed so that we are able to piece together the strained relationship between Harper and her husband, James (Paapau Essidieu). Her emotional turmoil plays into what's happening during this rural getaway meant for relaxation, yet often this has a surreal or dreamlike feel, making it challenging to know what is real or what she is imagining. Harper holds the occasional FaceTime with her friend Riley (Gayle Rankin), and the broken signal on these calls may or may not be real ... like so much of what we see. Garland's third act goes a bit bonkers, and includes some icky body horror effects ala Cronenberg. The mythology of Sheela la nig and The Green Man (rebirth) are part of the numerous uses of symbolism throughout.

The film is beautiful to look at thanks to the cinematography of Rob Hardy, and the frequent use of vibrant green jumps off the screen during many scenes. The atmosphere created is primed for something that may or may not pay off by the end, but it's certainly another artsy creep-fest in the A24 universe. Ms. Buckley proves again what a talent she is, and Mr. Kinnear joins Peter Sellers ("Dr. Strangelove"), among others, in mastering multiple roles. Lesley

Fmovies: I give props to the cinematography, special effects, and the performances; particularly those of Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear. Other than those few positives, this movie is a complete mess. The first half is a complete mind-numbing chore to sit through, nothing really happens. The second half is just very weird with a bunch of metaphoric imagery that I really didn't understand. It also really perpetuates this stereotype of all men being complete creeps.

I'm all for feminist cinema and arts that bring meaningful ideas to the conversation on sexism and the tendencies of *some* men to be completely unhinged. This movie fails in that department and also just fails on a technical level with its slow pacing and confusing ending.

This movie has a very creepy mood and sets a tone for a typical horror movie, with a bit of art-house touch to it. For the majority of the movie it feels like you are watching a creepy horror movie like so many others, but it gets really bizarre in the end, and it just makes no sense. Trying to not spoil it, but the last ten minutes is just some weird Freudian symbolism, and body horror that left me wondering what the point of this whole thing was. I'm guessing there is some message about toxic masculinity or misogyny in there but I really couldn't parse it out of the nonsensical ending. This might be worth watching when it hits streaming, but I wouldn't pay full price for a ticket.

Men fmovies. Jesse Buckley does well with what she is givin, but at some point in the film she begins to look confused on what is this all about.

The pilot should be simply, but instead becoming weird test of patients, where you start to question what am I watching. Now there are some good creepy moments, and had two moments where it made me jump. But other then that it's just painful to sit through, tries to be a horror artsy film, and it just does not quite get there.

All in all not a bad idea, but could have been done better.

Immerse yourself in a not uncommon story of a woman fighting her demons after aggressive and confrontational encounters from her partner resulting in tragedy and guilt. An outstanding performance from Jessie Buckley through a piece of cinema that leaves you feeling constantly uncomfortable, and under no illusion of how abuse perpetuates through the ages, in many guises, and is ultimately so difficult to contain.

I've seen some out there films in my time, believe me. But 'Men' is very close to taking the cake. I actually found myself in a mild sense of shock after the film. An usher asked me how it was and I didn't know what to say. I was genuinely lost for words. This movie is a ride.

I love a film that is willing to push boundaries. I love even more a film that simply has no boundaries. That's what this was. By the end there was nothing that could come on screen that would've surprised me. It may have shocked me, but it wouldn't have surprised me.

I get the general metaphor the film was going for. I tried not to overthink it because I don't think that's the wise thing to do. It makes sense though, at least on a base level. Not everyone may agree with it, but that's the beautiful thing about a perspective, you can't be wrong.

A small critique I had, and this will sound strange, but when the film is at its most shocking near the end, it is in a way at its least shocking too. Because before this the absurdity was at least kind of plausible (in a movie universe at least). However once the movie goes completely off the walls it's kind of easy to sit back and just say accept the ride, knowing that nothing is realistic any longer. Hopefully that made sense.

I really enjoyed this film, but not everyone will - I have never been more certain of that. There were a couple of women in the row in front of me who I expected to get up and leave at any moment. They stuck it out though and good for them. If you're up for it, I recommend this one. 8/10.