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| Swiss Army Man - A bizarre journey, both poignant and comedic. |
Written by: Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Directed by: Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Starring: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Rating: R
My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it. Read my previous movie reviews!
Plot
Stranded on a deserted island, Hank befriends a dead body and embarks on a surreal journey back home.
Verdict
This movie has such a silly premise, but it cuts though social norms and presents a quaint truth. It's incredibly creative, generating plenty of speculation as to what this is really about. Is this a fantasy or a modern day dark and edgy Weekend at Bernie's? All the pieces are present for you to determine what "really" happened, but even that leaves this open to decipher what it means. It can be called a ninety minute flatulence joke, and while the movie won't convert everyone, it will certainly entertain.
Watch it.
Review
What a great opening. In just a few minutes we know that Hank (Paul Dano) is stranded, almost inexplicably, which is a clue in of itself. He's desperate and ready to hang himself when he spots a dead body (Daniel Radcliffe) washed up on the shore.
Hank inspects the body, and a long loud squeak of gas erupts. Hank then discovers the gas propels the body in the water. This movie is the best kind of quirky. Hank rides the dead body like a jet ski. It's amazing, insanely creative, and completely inane. This leads to a great title card, popping up as Hank is riding the body, joyous that he has finally escaped the island.
Just imagine the foley guy having to record hours of flatulence for the film. Members of the cast contributed, though Radcliffe claims he did not. While there was a dummy stand in, Radcliffe insisted on doing as many scenes as possible. When promoting the film, he attended many press events with the dummy.
He pushes on the body's chest and discovers water comes out of the mouth. This just gets crazier when Hank begins using the body as a canteen. Hank's thirst problem is solved. Then the body begins talking.
At this point I began wondering what's going on. Is this a dream? Is this similar to An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge where a man gets hung and has a vivid dream in the few seconds it takes to die? Logically rigor mortis should have set into the body, but it's still quite limber. It's a minor gripe because this movie is so inventive, and how do you classify the logic of a movie like this? How else can Hank use the body to survive?
Hank names the body Manny and begins teaching it the nuances of society. Despite the absurdity of the premise, this has quite a bit of insight.
We get such memorable lines as, "Before the internet, every girl was a lot more special." and "If you don't know Jurassic park, you don't know s***."
Jurassic Park references are amazing and frequent, from the theme song, to Laura Dern, and scenes in the movie reenacted.
Supposing this isn't a dream, the body gave Hank purpose. He was ready to kill himself, but now he's caring for and teaching Manny. Manny seems to be more alive. He can talk better, he moves better, and his color is returning. I wondered if this was going to delve into the power of compassion for fellow humans, but that isn't it.
Manny can start a fire, chop wood, shoot projectiles, and has a "compass." As absurd as it is, I began wondering if somehow Hank was bringing Manny back to life. Hank is trying to help Manny regain his memories. This generates a few questions that will be answered by the end. Manny seems to have a memory of a girl he shouldn't know, unless this is darker than we guessed. At one point I wondered if Hank had murdered Manny, but that isn't it.
Dano does a great job of balancing a lot of emotions as Hank, but you have to give Radcliffe credit for playing a dead body. The facial expressions alone are impressive.
This is a pseudo-comedy buddy adventure film that uses a dead body to break down social conventions. Hank even says, the brain invents things to keep you going. Manny suggests that maybe he is an invention.
The ending is bonkers. It just hits you with answers and you begin wondering what's real. I was asking myself what did I just watch? The ending generates a lot of questions because it hits you so fast, causes you to assess what really happened, and then it reverts causing you to second guess your second gueses.
Once you think about what happened you can begin to put together what happened. Keep scrolling for my in depth take.
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Hank created a fantasy world where what he wanted could happen, and he found a friend. The movie is crazy because Hank is crazy. We only got brief glimpses into what is real. This entire movie is from Hank's point of view, and he is an unreliable narrator.
Hank was obsessed with Sarah, but knew he would never be with her because he couldn't even muster the courage to talk to her. He decided to kill himself on the metaphorical island that was his life. He happened to find a dead body and created a fantasy around that, living in the woods behind Sarah's back yard. The body is real, what the body could do is not.
We did see breaks in the fantasy. When he encounters the bear, it's not that Manny lost powers, Hank got a glimpse of reality. When Hank meets Sarah in her yard, reality creeps in again. Sarah quickly realizes what's happening. Hank is a crazy guy holding a dead body. This break extends in part for plot convenience before Hank returns to his fictional world. The biggest clue is his dad nodding and smiling at him in the last scene. It's what Hank has always wanted, his dad's approval.
This entire movie has been wish fulfillment for Hank. Manny recognized the girl on Hank's phone which didn't make sense. We knew it was Hank's phone, but why did Hank play along? Hank was playing both sides of the fantasy. He knew he could never be with that girl, but Manny could be. Manny was who Hank wanted to be as weird as that is. Manny was someone that didn't fit in, who didn't adhere to society, and Hank could create a world in which that guy got the girl.
Manny sailing off into the ocean at the end is another fantasy for Hank.
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