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| Jack Reynor & Florence Pugh (r) star in Midsommar |
The Sister Situation
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, a grieving Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer holiday in a land of eternal sunlight, takes a sinister turn when the insular villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing. From the visionary mind of Ari Aster comes a dread-soaked cinematic fairytale, where a world of darkness unfolds in broad daylight.
Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, and Will Poulter
What's Good: Great character development early-on, and convincing chemistry between Dani, Christian and his college pals. The pace is terrific (despite lasting almost 2½ hours) moving along at a slow, steady boil, which keeps your attention throughout. It's also stylishly shot, with plenty of quirky twists and turns (and a little gore, for those who like that kind of stuff.)
What's Not: I wasn't in love with the ending. Key characters disappear one after another, but always off camera (sigh) and it doesn't take long to figure out what's (probably) going to happen. That said, it's never boring, and that's a plus.
Budget: <$10 million
Runtime: 147 minutes (Seems shorter, but still... almost 2½ hours!)
Target Audience: Psychological horror fans.
Bottom Line: It reminded me of 2006's The Wicker Man, which was a remake of the 1973 cult classic with Edward Woodward, OBE, only more contemporary. The major difference? A young, energetic cast, light on star power but ultimately more compelling.
Grade: B
