MEN : Tuesday 21st June 2022

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'MEN' and my local independent movie theatre this week, and this folk horror film is Written and Directed by Alex Garland whose previous two feature film making credits are 'Ex Machina' in 2014 and 'Annihilation' in 2018, although he has also written the screenplays for Danny Boyle's '28 Days Later' and 'Sunshine', plus 'Never Let Me Go' and 'Dredd', with 'The Beach' and 'The Tesseract' movies based on novels written by Garland. This film screened at the Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section in May, was released in the US in late May and in the UK in early June, and last week was released in Australia having so far grossed US$9.5M and garnered generally favourable critical reviews. It was also selected as opening film at 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea to be screened on July 7th.

Harper Marlowe (Jessie Buckley), a recent widow, takes a two week break from her haunted life in London in the remote English countryside village of Cotson after the apparent suicide of her husband James (Paapa Essiedu). Seen in flashback throughout the film, it is revealed that Harper, had become tired and overwrought with James' emotional abuse and manipulation. She made her intentions known to divorce him, leading James to threaten her with his suicide. Things boil over between the couple when he eventually strikes her when she continues to reject him. Harper locks James out of their apartment overlooking the River Thames before witnessing him fall from an upstairs balcony to his death and being impaled on a wrought iron fence.

Sometime later, Harper arrives at the house, having made the four hour car journey from London to Cotson, that she is renting, where she is met by its owner Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear). Later that day she goes for a walk in the woods and comes across an old, unused railway tunnel. A figure appears at the end of the tunnel and begins chasing her, but she manages to evade it. Reaching an open field, Harper takes a picture with her phone, inadvertently capturing a naked man standing near an abandoned building. The next day, as Harper is video chatting with her friend Riley (Gayle Rankin), she observes the man in her garden, having followed her from the previous day. Harper calls the Police, and the man is duly arrested, stark naked and determined to be a vagrant probably living in the railway tunnel. 

Afterwards, Harper visits the local fifteenth century church where she meets a young boy (Rory Kinnear) and a vicar (Rory Kinnear) who both share an uncanny likeness to Geoffrey. The boy invites her to play a game of hide and seek, but when she politely declines he calls her a fucking bitch and is promptly asked to leave by the vicar. Sharing a private moment together in reflective conversation, the vicar insinuates Harper is to blame for James' death, asking how she may have provoked him and if she even allowed him to apologise. She stands up now even more distraught and tells the vicar to promptly fuck off as she leaves.

Harper visits the local village pub later that night on Geoffrey's advice. The pub is far from busy, but the customers that are in attendance (all of whom are men) also bear that same uncanny appearance to Geoffrey. Geoffrey is also there, as is the policeman (Rory Kinnear) who arrested the naked intruder (Rory Kinnear). The policeman informs Harper that the man was released as they had no legal grounds to keep him detained as he didn't steal anything, didn't break in, and didn't hurt anyone, much to Harper's chagrin as he stalked her following their encounter in the forest.

Harper contacts Riley about the day's developments, and she agrees to drive over in the morning so Harper can continue her time away. As Harper attempts to send Riley the address, her mobile phone service is repeatedly interrupted. She observes the policeman standing in the back garden under an apple tree but as the security lights flicker on and off, he changes into one of the pub occupants, who then chases her inside the house. Harper defends herself with a kitchen knife before a window is smashed in the kitchen. Geoffrey arrives a short time later and finds that the kitchen window breaking was due to a crow flying into it, which is still alive but with broken wings. He then puts the bird out of its misery by breaking its neck. As Geoffrey goes into the garden to scare away any would-be intruders the security lights flick off and then on again and he is replaced with the naked man, who chases her again. When he tries to reach her through the letter box, Harper stabs him cleanly through the forearm. He manages to pull his arm free, the stuck knife ripping his arm and hand in two in an injury resembling the one received by James during his partial impalement on the wrought iron fence. Both the boy and the vicar appear in the house, each of them now similarly injured. The vicar attempts to rape Harper, but she stabs him in the stomach and leaves the house.

While attempting to get the hell outta Dodge in her car, Harper runs over Geoffrey sending him flying over the bonnet and the roof and landing in a crumpled heap several metres behind. He gets up seemingly unhurt and in a fit of rage he throws Harper out of her car and drives away. Harper, now on foot decides to walk it as headlights are seen approaching at speed. Geoffrey has circled back around, and chases Harper down before crashing the car into a stone wall in front of the house. The naked man, approaches Harper, his ankle now severely broken which also matches James after his death. The naked man gives birth to the young boy, who in turn gives birth to the vicar, who in turn gives birth to Geoffrey, who in turn gives birth finally to James.

Both James and Harper sit on a sofa inside the house, with James still blaming Harper for his death, which she continues to reject. When Harper asks him what he wants from her, James responds that he 'wants her love', which she appears to refuse. The next morning Riley arrives at the house and is revealed to be pregnant. Shocked at the blood trail leading into the house, she notices Harper in the garden sat on some stone steps, alive and smiling.

'Men' won't be for everyone that's for sure, but for me, I found this British horror film wrapped up in the seemingly peaceful and gentile English countryside a refreshing take on the genre that these days seems all to preoccupied with zombie flicks or alien movies. The film is unsettling and hammers home the trials and tribulations that women are confronted with every day by men who have a very different view of their world and clear opinions of their place within it . . . and not in a good way either! Jessie Buckley is on top form as the fractured and haunted Harper, and Rory Kinnear who is playing so out of character, seems to relish in the numerous roles he is given here, and who really shines in all his toxic masculinity. As for Alex Garland, he has crafted a film that is at times bizarre, scary, humorous, emotional and horrific that will divide audiences just as much as it has critics, but will stay with you long after the end credits have rolled, and at least will prompt some interesting post-screening conversations. 

'Men' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-