Men

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin

Director: Alex Garland

After the sudden suicide of her abusive husband James (Essiedu), Harper (Buckley) takes a trip to the countryside to heal and have some time to herself. She settles down for what starts as a relaxing trip after being shown around her vacation home by Geoffrey (Kinnear). However, things soon turn into something more sinister as she believes she is being stalked by a nameless naked man who follows her home. Soon after, she finds herself antagonized by everyone in town as she attempts to get closure on James’ death.

I will preface my review with the disclaimer that I don’t fully understand what transpired in this movie. The last twenty or thirty minutes are an absolutely insane trip into body horror that would make David Cronenberg proud. It will also likely trigger a wide array of reactions as every audience member won't react the same. As per the usual with Garland’s work, the movie demands multiple viewings to fully grasp the concept and honestly will probably age better with each viewing.

It’s very clear the movie was shot during Covid, with its very remote setting and lack of characters. This actually helps the isolation and paranoia that Harper goes through in the film. Each new character (all played by Kinnear) is all the more sinister because of it.

Garland makes even the most unassuming scenes creepy and suspenseful. Take a scene where Harper is simply walking through the woods and exploring the area. You know something is eventually going to happen and her idyllic walk is going to be disrupted, you just don't know where. Also very well done is the home invasion that transpires in the last third of the movie. Garland conjures some brilliant visual terror with motion sensor lights that also serve as a trip into Harper's mental state.

Jessie Buckley continues to prove why she is one of the most in-demand actresses right now. She believably underplays the sadness of her character's situation while also believably reacting to the horror around her. Also fantastic is Rory Kinnear. Although the movie never addresses this fact, he makes each character his own and somehow each one is uniquely creepy.

Where the movie will lose people is a lack of any real concrete answers. I appreciate the movie letting the audience form their own opinions but it goes out of its way to keep them at an extra arm's length. As I said before, I think I understand what the movie was going for but I am honestly not sure.

While it’s not Garland’s best, he continues to put together an impressive film resume. I look forward to what he does next (even with him saying he might not direct again and will instead focus on writing).

Grade: B