Alex Garland, the visionary filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated Ex Machina and Annihilation and the writer of such beloved films as 28 Days Later and Dredd, released his third feature film this year. A24 has released Alex Garland’s Men, a new folk horror film starring Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear. Garland wrote and directed the film, released on May 20, 2022.
The film follows Harper (Buckley) as she travels to the English countryside in search of some much-needed peace after the suicide of her husband. Upon arrival at the quaint cottage she’s staying in, Harper starts to find herself being stalked by several men in the area, all of whom have the same face (Kinnear). Harper must decide whether to leave the countryside and return to her city home or stay and stand up against those who try to frighten her.
In Men and the other two films Garland has directed, he’s proven to have a special eye for atmospheric intensity. The setup and environment of this film are both equal parts beautiful and haunting. Garland was able to get the most out of a small and isolated village. While the scenery was full of gorgeous bright greens and cute, comforting buildings from long ago, there was a level of dread around every unseen corner and within every dripping, pitch-black tunnel.
The atmosphere easily puts the audience in Harper’s shoes, making us scared for her curiosity and relieved as she picks up her pace in the opposite direction of possible dangers. Intense moments were partnered perfectly with a fantastic score from Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow that bounced back and forth between ambiance and a hurried feeling of fear.
The acting in Alex Garland’s Men was top-notch. Jessie Buckley has made a name for herself as a great actor in the last few years, giving excellent performances in Chornobyl, Fargo, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, and recently with her Academy Award-nominated role in The Lost Daughter. Her character, Harper, is believable and heartbreaking, as she shows such raw emotion in the film that you would think this was an Ari Aster movie. Kinnear was excellent, too, as he used his chameleonic talents to pull off numerous different character performances.
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Regarding the story, I’m a massive fan of the film’s first half. The story’s setup and flashbacks to Harper’s abuse and experiences with her late husband drove an empathetic stake into my heart, and watching her not only try to heal but push forward in such a realistic way was both inspiring and important in keeping me engaged with the character.
The messages in this film were penetrative, both highlighting that abuse can be both similar and different at the same time and that, more times than not, abuse births more abuse. There was also the important message that just because someone who is abusive passes away, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t grief that comes along with moving on from those abusive ghosts, and quite often, both the loss and the freedom can be overwhelming and devastating.
My issues with Alex Garland’s Men came with the second half. Garland has always been able to fit his socio-political messaging deep enough into his stories that it hasn’t taken away from the fluidity of the films. Those messages were continuously slapping me across the face, and though that may have been the point, I’m hesitant to believe that filmgoers wouldn’t have gotten the idea if he’d taken a “less-is-more” approach.
Men also went to a place of artistic presentation that hasn’t been seen in Garland’s movies up to this point. Sure, his films always look incredible, but in Men, he took intense scenes and broke them off into lengthy artistic shots, which both felt distracting and uncharacteristic of Garland’s usual work.
Speaking of distraction, some of the effects work in Men weren’t anywhere near Garland’s previous films’ levels. Some of the digitization of Rory Kinnear’s face placed on unfitting bodies was strange and sometimes laughable. That’s not to say there weren’t some fantastic body horror elements and gore effects, as the final act belongs right there alongside some of David Cronenberg’s films’ weirdest body horror moments.
There were many things to love about Alex Garland’s Men, and when your first two films were extremely strong successes, it’s difficult to keep the train rolling forward and continue passing up your own work. I think it was a small step back for Garland (and still a worthy watch!), but I fully expect him to rebound on his next project, moving him closer to the title of being a master of modern body horror and science fiction.
