Men
2022
****
Director: Alex Garland
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Zak Rothera-Oxley, Paapa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin, Sarah Twomey, Sonoya Mizuno
After a traumatic breakup, Harper retreats to a rented country house to process her husband's apparent suicide. Around the village, she encounters men, all of whom treat her with varying levels of hostility. Alex Garland's intriguing and allegorical horror film deals with Harper's deep-seated grief and guilt. The village men, all of them played by Rory Kinnear, appear to represent her dead husband's personality traits or, if you will, different forms of toxic masculinity. As if this wasn't abstract enough, Garland fills the screen with rich religious imagery (fertility figures, forbidden fruits, etc.). The graphic last third will definitely divide the audience. Nevertheless, the performances are great and the visuals are impressive.
