OnScreen Review: "Men"
Ken Jones, Chief Film Critic
Men, they’re all the same. This is the not-at-all subtle theme of Alex Garland’s latest film, Men. After several years as an author and screenwriter, two thought provoking sci-fi films (Ex Machina and Annihilation), plus the FX miniseries Devs, Garland is one of those directors that I make note of when I see a new project of his coming. Men had a compelling trailer and was buoyed in my eyes by the casting of the talented (and recent Oscar-nominee) Jessie Buckley in the lead role.
Much like Ex Machina and Annihilation, this is a movie with a limited cast. Buckley portrays Harper, a woman who is recently widowed and is escaping to the countryside for some solitude and emotional healing. Flashbacks show a complicated, messy marriage to James (Paapa Essiedu), and the incredibly complicated and disturbing way things ended between them. She occasionally Facetimes her friend Riley (Gayle Rankin) while she is on her holiday.
But pretty much everyone else in the film, with one or two female exceptions, is portrayed by Rory Kinnear. Kinnear, in some form or variation, appears as the landlord of the house Harper is staying in, the random naked man she comes across in the forest, the owner of the pub, the vicar in the local church, the rude teenager lurking on the steps of the church. Over the course of the film, these men increasingly terrorize Harper as her getaway vacation becomes a waking nightmare as she is also haunted by her past relationship with her husband. The film culminates in a slowly gestating scene of body horror that is sure to make even Cronenberg aficionados squirm in their seats.
The strength of the film is in the performances of Buckley and Kinnear. Buckley is a naturally gifted actress who has impressed me since I first saw her in Wild Rose. Harper has been put through the wringer by a manipulative husband, highlighted by the fight they have before his death and potential suicide. Flashbacks to their final moments together fill in the gaps in her story, and often leave her weeping and emotionally distraught in the present. Kinnear has the very difficult task of portraying so many different characters. It’s probably the kind of role that most actors find juicy, getting to put in so many different performances and make them all distinguishable from one another, beyond just the hair and makeup or CGI of each character, though they are all various shades of disturbing and unnerving.
There are some hints to roots in ancient lore or some form of mythology at work in the background of the story. The man that Harper meets in the woods later begins to attach leaves to his face, similar to a stone carving found inside the church she visits at one point. Toxic masculinity, the #MeToo movement, and gaslighting will come immediately to mind with a lot of what transpires on screen.
One obvious reference point seems to be to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, in the form of an apple tree that sits in the front lawn of the house Harper stays at. When she first arrives, she plucks an apple and takes a bite of it. The owner of the house jokingly chides her, saying that she mustn’t each the apples, as they are ‘forbidden fruit.”
While the apple may be an obvious reference point, it may also be something of a red herring. Another visual symbol that appears just as frequently as the apple in Men is the dandelion. The dandelion is an invasive weed that has deceptively deep roots that changes from yellow to white and then proceeds to spread its seed everywhere. At one point, the man with the leaves on his face appears in front of Harper and blows dandelions into the air and she inhales them and chokes briefly. There is definitely a metaphor in there for the pervasiveness of a patriarchal society and how it chokes women.
I must admit, I’m struggling with how much credit to give this film, even as I write this review. It is clever to have one actor portraying all the men in the town be a metaphor for how pervasive and homogeneous the patriarchal world may be. And there is certainly enough ambiguity with having all the men look the same in this village to wonder why. Is it purely sci-fi/mythology? Is it symbolic of all men? Is it how Harper sees men? Garland is not interested in giving easy answers. Unfortunately, it feels like there is more surface text than subtext to most of this, and the film is playing coy more than is warranted.
I went into Men with high expectations for a high-concept film. The end product was not entirely what I was hoping for. It is not without its mysteries and quirks, but it feels less substantive than the previous directorial efforts from Garland. While the cast impresses, and it may be a more accessible piece of work from Garland, too much of it feels like low-hanging fruit.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars