6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to have found a place to heal. But someone or something from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her. What begins as simmering dread becomes a fully-formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears.
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin, Sonoya MizunoHorror | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Maybe a youth misspent devouring every international folktale, religious origin story, fairy tale and/or myth available to devour wasn't totally wasted when it comes to "enjoying" (which may be a relative term for some) the weirdly captivating if visually quite disturbing Men, the latest foray into what might broadly be termed "gender politics" by Alex Garland, who has memorably already given "instant cult film" lovers the likes of Ex Machina and Annihilation. As a card carrying member of that aforementioned type prone to interest in various "occult" traditions, this film's ultimately shocking and provocative "gender bending" take (at least in some ways) on the character (and perhaps concept) known as the Green Man is fascinating and provides the film with a series of third act special effects that may have any fathers out there reliving the potentially traumatic sight of their babies being born (I joke, kind of), albeit here in such a grotesque context that any comparison to such a "blessed event" is probably inappropriate. Garland is an obviously very intelligent writer and director, and Men is most certainly unforgettable on any number of levels, but there's such a thing as being too smart for your own good, and I wondered at times as I made my way through this Minotaur-less labyrinth (what did I tell you about devouring myths?) if Garland really completely wove together a number of pretty disparate elements. That said, this film has what I perceived to be an almost jet black sense of humor at times, despite its unabashed horror elements, that is best exemplified by the last couple of seconds of pre- closing credits narrative (a bit of a sting, which is itself bizarrely sanguine if not comical, is of course offered interstitially after the credits begin).
Men is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMDb lists both the Sony CineAlta and a camera I don't think I've ever had pop up before in my reviewing duties (at least where I've been able to discern the technologies employed for the shoot), the Phantom Flex4K, with a 4K DI. The imagery here is often deliberately skewed, especially in a third act that is basically your moviegoing experience on drugs, so to speak, but despite the palette having been toyed with and any number of other bells and whistles having been employed, detail levels are remarkably consistent throughout the presentation. Some of the CGI is undeniably artificial looking, probably most especially the little boy character, who still seems to have something of a five o'clock shadow (though given other presentational aspects, maybe even that was intentional). The final CGI sequences are incredibly graphic and disturbing, which is probably testament to how realistic they look, considering how outlandish what is being depicted actually is. This is another recent Lionsgate release that has occasional moments of banding, something that is especially noticeable in some of the orange and red tinged scenes that are prevalent in the film.
Men features a nicely layered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that renders a rather hallucinogenic sound design very well. The film actually starts out relatively grounded, though with just a hint of quasi-psychedelia effects as Harper sees James fall, but things proceed to get increasingly weirder, matching the visuals every step of the way. The outdoor environments offer some nice, sweeping ambient environmental effects, and even some of the quieter dialogue moments, like a cloister between Harper and the village priest in a courtyard, have good placement of discrete background effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.
If Men wants to ply some proto-pagan territory, even though the Green Man does show up on some Christian churches if not Jewish synagogues, the fact that one of Harper's first acts when she gets to the country mansion is plucking an apple off of a tree and munching on it might suggest a certain cross pollination (if I might deliberately pun on some of the film's context and actual imagery) of ideas and traditions. The result is therefore perhaps understandably a little chaotic feeling, and potentially not helped by a completely hallucinatory finale that may offer more questions than answers. All of this said, this is another completely provocative piece from Garland, and it may at least en-gender (pun unavoidable) some rumination. Technical merits are generally solid, and Men comes Recommended.
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