Garland’s film Men appears to be the depiction of a trauma response, Buckleys character resisting the messaging she received from an emotionally abusive partner only to have those messages reinforced around her, until she is literally forced to fight her way out of it. The film leans heavily into symbolism and metaphor to the point of giving up on its narrative being explained away as “real” and for many that could be a difficult pill to swallow. But for me it worked, finding the way the film played with horror tropes as gendered symbols was fascinating.
A big part of what made Men work for me were the performances of Buckley and Kinnear, one grounded and one eccentrically over the top. The balance between these poles created an interesting dynamic that was fascinating to watch.
Despite Garland’s in your face approach his story and its implications are not entirely clear giving you a lot of ruminate on. The visuals are intensely upsetting but also intentionally obscure giving lots of room for interpretation while also delivering a spine chilling horror that is upsetting, even in its rather optimistic ending?? Maybe.
Men got me thinking, made me ask questions, and frightened me. So it did its job.
Men
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Eddiedu
Writer/Director: Alex Garland
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