Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Swiss Army Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Brought to you by Beano?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 1, 2016

Lost, for all its labyrinthine whimsy and occasional horror, was curiously circumspect about detailing a body count after the calamitous plane crash that filled its island paradise (?) with a gaggle of castaways. Cast Away, on the other hand, at least dealt tangentially with one corpse from its plane crash, while also giving its survivor a rather unexpected “companion”, a volleyball that is soon going by its brand name, Wilson. Swiss Army Man discards with any real set up as to how its hero Hank (Paul Dano) has ended up on a tiny island, though a couple of brief shots of “messages in a bottle” (so to speak) imply that Hank had been on a Gilligan's Island-esque “three hour tour” when a storm sunk his boat and stranded him. As the film begins, Hank is in the process of attempting suicide, in a brief vignette which may in fact recall a similar moment in Cast Away. Just as he’s about to step off of a cooler in order to hang himself, Hank notices a body that has washed up on shore. Unfortunately in his excitement, he does step off the cooler, leading to a quick moment where it seems like he might inadvertently meet his maker. Luckily, the rope around his neck snaps and Hank rushes forward to see if the body is actually alive, which it seems like it isn’t. Hank, seemingly fairly addled by this point after having been isolated from humanity for so long, is momentarily amused by the fact that the corpse is experiencing some pretty serious flatulence, but soon returns to his “task” of ending his life. Back on his “suicide perch”, Hank then stares in wonder as the corpse’s unrelenting gas attacks actually start propelling it through the shallow waters of the ocean. Deciding that this is his rather odd and outré “ticket” out of his predicament, Hank actually mounts the corpse like a Jet Ski and rides it to a new location, which is evidently part of some mainland somewhere, though as with many other elements in the film, much is left to either the imagination or at least assumptions of the audience. It may seem like Swiss Army Man is off to a rather bizarre start, which is probably inarguable, but in the words of some wise man, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

What ensues is a “buddy” film quite unlike anything most viewers will have seen, with the corpse, who ultimately is bestowed with the name Manny (Daniel Radcliffe), fulfilling a sort of Cast Away Wilson-ish role, providing Hank with a companion. The first section of the film is a virtual monologue for Hank, even as the somewhat decrepit looking Manny acts as a foil of sorts. With some incessant farting providing a sort of running gag (in both senses of the word), Hank engages Manny in conversation, though in one of the film’s kind of magical realist turns, some dripping water in a cave Hank has found to shelter the pair seems to begin a reanimation process in the corpse. That then leads to what might be thought of as a riff on Frankenstein, with Hank attempting to “educate” his resurrected monster, the childlike Manny, about the ways of the world (such as they are in the cave and its surrounding forest). That soon dovetails into a subplot about a woman named Sarah (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who caught Hank's eye back in the day, but who here, given the film's emphasis on dissociation and projection, becomes part of the whole educating aspect with regard to Manny.

The problem with a “high concept” outing like this (and I’m sure there will be some wags who will accuse co-writers and directors Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan of being high when they made the film) is that it needs something to support its outright freakishness. One might think of any given Tim Burton film as a point of comparison, where even in outlandish setups like Edward Scissorhands Burton seems to be hinting at something metaphorical or even allegorical. What is one to make of Swiss Army Man’s premise, other than that it is sui generis and quite unlike anything in recent memory? The “Daniels” (as they bill themselves) actually manage to get a bit of emotional resonance into the story, mostly due to the efforts of typically hangdog looking Dano, but if there’s a hidden meaning here, it certainly escaped this particular reviewer. I was almost expecting something along the lines of an Incident at Owl Creek twist at the end, but no such revelation was forthcoming. The film coasts on its completely eccentric plot, but without punning too horribly, Swiss Army Man simply ends up running out of gas.

Swiss Army Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Swiss Army Man is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. The IMDb lists a host of both Arri and Red cameras which digitally captured the film, at a number of different source resolutions which were finished at a 2K DI. Perhaps interestingly, then, the Daniels and DP Larkin Sieple have added what looks like digital grain to several sequences, something that gives the look of the film something closer to, well, film (see screenshots 5 and 6 for two example where this look is readily apparent). Detail levels are often beautifully resolved throughout this presentation, both in the sunnier climes of the original island scene, and then even later in what is a somewhat danker and at some points downright rainy ambience. The palette isn't exactly "natural" looking, especially with regard to Manny's initially pretty frosty flesh tones, but there's a nicely nuanced array of tones even in some of the dimly lit forest scenes. A few moments in the cave suffer from less than fulsome shadow detail, and a later scene by a campfire is similarly lacking fine detail levels, but overall this is a really appealing looking transfer that should easily satisfy the film's fans.

Swiss Army Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Swiss Army Man features a nicely immersive if fairly subtle Dolby Atmos track (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core). Right off the bat, with the nice merging of a seascape with kind of quasi-ambient pads, there's a nice spread through the surrounds. The film got a grant from Dolby to help with its sound design, and some of the film's effects, notably the many types of gaseous emanations from Manny (and, later, Hank!) are often amusing, especially as they "waft" overhead. Forest sounds are also quite evocative, if not especially "showy", with such sequences as a torrential downpour offering really nice use of all channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly and is well prioritized, with an understanding that quite often it's not in competition with any other sonic elements.

Swiss Army Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Daniel Kwan, Writer/Director Daniel Scheinert, Production Designer Jason Kisvarnay, and Sound Mixer/Fartist Brent Kiser. That's right--fartist. Do you have a problem with that?


• Swiss Army Man: Behind the Scenes (1080p; 16:42) has some fun candid footage, including of Radcliffe with his "body double" dummy.


• Making Manny (1080p; 3:14) is a brief but interesting tour through the making of the dummy with designer Jason Hamer.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 9:11)


• Q & A with Filmmakers (1080p; 1:06:45) features Glenn Kiser moderating at the Dolby Institute. This focuses on a grant the film received from Dolby for sound design and production.

Swiss Army Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When you're forced to sit through as many cookie cutter entertainments as many of us reviewers do, something like Swiss Army Man becomes appealing simply because it's so different. That said, this film is obviously not going to be for everybody, and my hunch is even those who, like I did, establish a certain genial relationship with the material may not be especially won over once everything is said and done (and/or farted). Dano and Radcliffe are both amazing, and the film's very peculiarity will be an automatic draw for some, but whether Swiss Army Man actually has anything to say is questionable. Technical merits are very strong, and with caveats noted, Swiss Army Man comes Recommended.