Swiss Army Man - Movie Review

Ever since I seriously decided to review and analyze media a few years ago I've watched lot of films. Some of them were good and some of them were bad. All of them have made me recognize more and more about the creation process behind films, but also makes me wish people would do more things differently. So often we have films about people just taking over the world and there are sky beams or there's a haunting and it's always a ghost, never something more complicated then that. But there's one film out of everything that I've watched that does so much differently and I still think about it to this day: Swiss Army Man.

So this film is about a man named Hank, played by Paul Dano, who stranded on an island and is about to commit suicide. Now before he does it he discovers a dead body, played by Daniel Radcliffe, and finds out this body is capable of... well anything. It can fart and become a jetski, it can store massive amounts of water in its body, it can light fires from snapping its fingers, and so much more. Now eventually this body begins to talk to Hank and asks questions about life and Hank helps teach the body about life as they try and get back to civilization. Yes, I am completely serious, that is the actual plot of this movie. What an incredible, bizarre, original story. And fucking love it!

Before I go any further I just want to say this: If you have a problem with fart jokes, like you see one happen and you instantly call it out and say that because a film has one it's complete garbage no matter what, then stop reading and go watch your same-old, generic superhero film or whatever. But you keep an open mind and watch those fart jokes and think about how they might have a deeper meaning, then you will have the time of your life with this film. Like there's a big moment in the film that basically asks if your best friend, the person or people you're most comfortable with, are keeping in their farts around you... what else are they keeping from you and why does it make you feel unwanted? The film continually turns very childish humor into philosophical questions and it's incredible!

That and more are all a part of the big theme of the movie, which is repression, like how society and the people we're close to keep telling us to not do things, sometimes to the extreme. Like consider all those people who, when they're young, find out that they're gay and they're scared because if their parents find out they'll hate them and just turn them into an outcast. I mean there are reasonable things we shouldn't do like murder or be pedophiles or take poops all over people's cars, but things such as having feelings for somebody or having an odd hobby are things that are sometimes suppressed inside us because people are afraid of how others will look at them if they found out. I have such thoughts a lot and it's hard for me to make friends or conversations because a lot of the things I do like video games and TV and movies and the passion I have for these things... people will just ignore me or look at me funny and that's why I'm silent and hide away because I'd rather be silent than feel unwanted...

This leads us to our main characters. Hank has had a rough past and so has become very shy and reclusive with barely any connections. The dead body played by Daniel Radcliffe, who eventually gains the name of Manny, is a blank slate who knows nothing of how to act around people and often makes comments that Hank shushes up because of how people have treated him in the past. These two different characters have lots of moments that are very eye-opening and can gave me a lot of epiphanies. There's an odd eloquence to the way Hank teaches Manny through the use of constructions made from trash that is both entertaining as a normal movie viewer, but also wondrous as he teaches this innocent, dead being about life. They form this powerful bond and it's really heartfelt.

And it's also really funny. Like oh my god I can't stop smiling and laughing funny! For instance at the very start of the film where Hank is about to hang himself he sees the dead body and is like, "Oh my god, another person!" and he starts to walk towards this body on the shore, but he forgot for a second that he was about to hang himself and he falls off and starts choke. Now a couple of seconds later the rope breaks and he falls to the ground, but my god it's so funny! And that's like the first minute of the film. The jokes keep happening and I'm saying it again, but I couldn't stop laughing and smiling! We do have some crude humor throughout the film at it might turn people off, but there's also some well-done humor. And dialogue is just so real it'll capture you.

I know most people only see Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, but after that series ended I've seen him in films and TV and he's so damn funny! Like he's got insane comedy talent to him! If I'm being totally honest, this is probably his best performance in film, which is odd to say because again he's playing a dead body that can talk... and fart to become a jet ski... But the way he speaks and acts as this dead body just make you awe at the screen and at his performance. As the film progresses and he comes more curious about life we see him become more animated, like a living person, which is incredible. I mean a dead body going through character growth? WOW!

It just shocks me though how much hate this film got when it premiered at film festivals. People were booing and walking out before the film was even half way done. All those people who keep demanding for more original content in a world that's dominated by sequels and cinematic universes and the same stuff over and over and over again saying this film is awful without even trying to enjoy it? That's bullshit. Those people are a bunch of hypo critics because this is exactly what you all are asking for and you're not willing to even give it a chance. Don't be like these people guys, you can be better than this.

There's only one problem for me and it's one I am just a little hesitant about and that's the ending. I don't know if they fully nail it. Maybe it's just me, but I don't know how I feel about how the film wrapped up. It's definitely not a bad ending, but it might leave you with the wrong questions. Other than that Swiss Army Man is a powerful and unique film that took a huge risk because it's so different and weird and out-of-the-norm. But it's because of that it becomes such a good film that leaves you thinking after the film is over about life and love and who you are as a person. I love this film and I'm going to own in on DVD some day soon.

Tentative Score: 9.5/10

Definitive Score: 10/10

This film... I don't think there's a single film I can recommend to people more than Swiss Army Man. I'm being 100% serious. I recommend a lot of films, but this one I implore you to watch. It changed me people, it really did. It made recognize what a small film can do and made me want to go out and support those indie films. I do love my bigger films like from Marvel, but sometimes it's the smaller voices that are the more powerful ones. Also, the studio behind this film, A24, made The Lighthouse, Ex Machina, Moonlight, Under the Skin, and many more incredible movie. Up next is a film called The Green Knight and I can't wait to go see it.