Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Men Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 28, 2022

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 begins with a viscerally shocking sequence which, kind of like that aforementioned "sting", then recurs interstitially throughout the story. Harper Marlowe (Jessie Buckley) has been injured somehow and stands, somewhat stunned, in her rather luxe London flat, which has a stunning view of the Thames and those distinctive downtown skyscrapers. Suddenly, her nose bloodied, she steps forward to see a man later identified as her husband James (Paapa Essiedu) falling in slow motion outside past her balcony and windows. (As a sidebar, some may get a kick out of the opening of my Mirage Blu-ray review, which gets into some kind of hilarious Buzzfeed like lists of "best falling scenes in movies" and then discusses my own personal love for such moments. In that regard, this one is both balletic and ultimately shockingly graphic, so forewarned is fore-hands-over-eyed.)

The story then segues to Harper attempting to recover from what was obviously some kind of tragedy by renting another luxe property, albeit this time an isolated mansion owned by a kind of peculiar guy named Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear). Suffice it to say that Harper begins to experience some very unusual occurrences in and around the manor house, and it's here that some potential spoiler territory needs to be addressed (so look away now if concerned).

A number of supporting characters in the nearby village are introduced, all of them male, and all of them portrayed by Kinnear in various layers of makeup and/or CGI wonderment. This includes everyone from a local policeman to an almost Damian-like little boy. Now this obviously at least subliminally introduces the idea of whatever character Kinnear is playing at any given moment as almost an avatar, or incarnation of an archetype, and that is nowhere more apparent than when an apparently mentally unbalanced naked guy who shows up on the grounds of the mansion later morphs into the Green Man, who in turn morphs into a number of other characters played by Kinnear before a final "reveal" which won't be overtly spoiled here. Suffice it to say that the term "morph" is being used here highly euphemistically.

Meanwhile, the "backstory" of what actually happened between Harper and James is doled out in little vignettes, which never quite landed for me completely, perhaps because they're presented as interstitial vignettes without a wealth of additional emotional information. The bottom line is Harper for good or ill is obviously haunted in more ways than one by what happened, but her attempt at finding saving grace out in the country seems to be almost scoffed at by her experiences on her "vacation", not the least by the local parish priest (again portrayed by Kinnear), who basically affirms that she should feel guilty and remorseful. As is probably expected, Men serves as an absolute field day for Kinnear, but is arguably less felicitous to Buckley, who has to traverse all of this lunacy with an expression that indicates someone in the varying throes of passing kidney stones.

All of this ultimately cartwheels toward what I'd almost describe as a Grand Guignol on acid finale, which is perhaps shockingly perverse on one level, though on another it's almost a perfect example of "female empowerment" pushing back (with a sharp implement, no less) against The Man, or perhaps more appropriately, Men.

Men Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Men Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Rebirth: The Making of Men (HD: 24:02) is an above average look at the film, with some good interviews with Garland, Buckley and Kinnear.

Additionally both a digital and DVD copy are included. Packaging features a slipcover.

Men Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.