Men (2022)
Directed & Written by Alex Garland

Alex Garland may not be the biggest name in film, but he’s worked for the past decade on a series of movies that have generally received critical approval, if not always box office success. I personally am a fan of Garland’s, from his work on Dredd, to the great visuals and concepts in Annihilation, and of course Ex Machina, Garland’s science fiction masterpiece that introduced me to the wonders of Oscar Isaac being allowed to act. So when a trailer for a new Alex Garland film came out, even an incredibly vague trailer, of course, I was quite hyped. After a series of scheduling conflicts stopped me from seeing it sooner, I’ve finally gone out and experienced the latest Garland weirdness, so I can now judge whether it stands up to his previous films. And the answer is a resounding ‘kinda?’.

Please Forgive My Vagueries.

After experiencing a traumatic event, our hero Harper heads off to the quaint English countryside to take a vacation, clear her head, and heal in this seeming paradise. Her rental manor is lovely and the surrounding forests are beautiful, but before long she finds herself stalked by a mysterious and peculiar man, one whose attention she really doesn’t want. Dealing with this issue is a bit more complicated than she hoped, and then things get weird. Really weird. Yes, that’s vague, but this is a movie that’s very vague in the trailers so I’ll try to respect that by being vague here.

Simply Breathtaking.

As you can probably tell from above, I have some mixed feelings about Men, but I’ll try to start with what worked before delving into its problems. Something Garland has always excelled at is visual design and cinematography, and Men is no exception to this. This is a gorgeous, gorgeous film, the kind that entranced me with its inviting environments before any horror elements were introduced, exactly what any good horror movie should do. When things take a turn, Men really starts showing off, twisting and refiguring everything we were just shown in a more sinister light, giving a real menace to this charming country village. This never lets up, and even when Men falters a bit, the visuals never stop impressing.

The First Movie In a While To Actually Creep Me Out!

Another impressive thing about Men is the quality of atmosphere that it manages to create with some of the most bare-bones set pieces. There’s such a specific feeling that gets captured in Men, that feeling of dreadful pseudo-loneliness, where you’re alone but there’s that constant threat of intrusion that turns something that should be pleasant, like a walk in the forest, into something frightening, like encountering a bizarre stranger in the forest. The painful isolation, not just physical but social as well makes Men anxiety-inducing in the best way, and it pays off that anxiety beautifully. I’d be remiss not to mention the gore at this point. Men doesn’t overflow with gore, but there are some amazing moments, including one particular scene that I’ll be thinking about for a long time.

Solid Performances All Around.

It’s slightly difficult to discuss performances here when I’m trying to be vague and so many of the performances that I found memorable weren’t exactly dialogue-driven. There’s generally great body language and visual performances, one scene, in particular, is this perfect blend of horror, drama, and comedy, and it’s all shown through Harper’s reaction to one bizarre event with no words needed. Aside from that particular sequence, the supporting cast performs admirably, even with only a few scenes apiece, each of them crafting a memorable and familiar persona.

It All Makes Sense…But Something Feels Missing.

This all sounds great and should add up to a great film, right? Well, that’s the issue. There are all of these wonderful pieces here and no end of possibilities to advance a unique story, but Garland doesn’t really know where to go with this. There’s commentary about all sorts of things and all manner of visual metaphors, but Men doesn’t say anything unique with its platform. Taken without the bizarre and trippy visuals, the story of Men is excessively simple, which isn’t always a problem, but when this makes the climax of your movie an ‘oh I get it’, that’s a huge problem. There’s a lot about Men I greatly enjoyed, but it is impossible to separate the things that worked from the general sense that they weren’t in service of something greater than the sum of its parts, and that’s a frustrating element that pops up a lot with Garland’s work, particularly his previous film, Annihilation.

Men Was Pretty Good, But Could Have Been Better.

I wanted to love Men. I’ve seen all of Alex Garland’s films in theater and he really impressed me with his visual flair and atmospheric filmmaking. But all his limitations are on display here, which is super frustrating when you can see all the pieces in place that could have made Men great. I definitely don’t think Men is bad, per se, I liked it quite a bit, but it could have been so much better. Still, though, I would recommend Men, with the caveat that it really is only for people who like trippy artsy films with a dash of ultraviolence. Also this movie has pissed off a bunch of thin-skinned manbabies, so it was worth it just for that.