Men (Mini-Review)

Men tells the story of Harper Marlowe who decides to go into the idyllic countryside after the death of her husband. She wants to mentally recover from her trauma but finds that impossible to do. During her stay a strange naked man starts following her. Once he starts stalking her she finds herself inside of a nightmare where no one will help her. Men was released in 2022. It was directed by Alex Garland. It stars Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear.

I was more than excited to see that Alex Garland was making another film. I have been more than impressed with his movies and so wanted to see what he did next. Like his other two movies, there is odd imagery and unexplained events. Now the latter would be bad in other films, but Garland tells stories in such a way that things not being fully explained helps enhance the movies.

From the trailers it seemed like the commentary on misogyny would be more blatant than it was. That doesn't mean every line about the subject is subtle. It's just that there is more subtlety than I expected. Such as Harper and her husband's relationship. Throughout the movie there are flashbacks to the fateful day her husband killed himself. Viewers are shown rather than told about Harper's feelings before and after her husband's death. You're able to experience things instead of being told things.

For the most part the movie doesn't have any jarring imagery. Though the naked man is a little unsettling and the way he stalks Harper isn't a beautiful sight. It's more than a little creepy. Then there's the long shot of a deer's carcass. A lot of things in the movie are up to interpretation and I've not yet settled on my feelings of what that meant. But it's not until the final moments of the film that real visual horror takes over. It's horrific due to the metaphors and what is visually happening. It's because of the final part of the film that I can't recommend this movie to everyone. If you have a thick stomach, though, you should be fine.

Rory Kinnear plays all of the men that trouble Harper during her vacation. This helps add to the unsettling atmosphere. Though having his face on a kid's body was...not the creepiest part of the movie but it's up there. Again, there's most likely a metaphor to explain this. Most likely because there are certain men who share the same viewpoints so they could be considered like a hive. One of those men is just like the other.

In the trailers for Men there was a melody and song that played. I thought that their importance in the trailer was just to make the movie look appealing. In the marketing of a movie there's not always much honesty. Such as It Comes at Night (2017) was marketed to be a creature feature like A Quiet Place (2018). When in reality It Comes at Night is a slow burning psychological horror. So I was pleasantly surprised that both melody and song play a big part in Men.

I would highly recommend Men to those looking for a horror movie. I would also highly recommend Men to fans of Alex Garland's other movies.