I first heard about Swiss Army Man when someone picked it for a Thursday Movie Picks post —I'm pretty sure it was Brittani from Rambling Film— and I added on my neverending watchlist because of the cast.
The story follows Hank (Paul Dano), a man stranded on a deserted island who is about to kill himself as he's lost all hope. Suddenly, a dead body named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) is washed up on the shores and, when Hank is about to try to hang himself again, the strangest thing happens, Manny starts farting. Hank soon learns that Manny can help him survive and find a way back and strikes up a friendship with him in the meantime.
What the fuck am I watching, was my first through as the plot to Swiss Army Man began to unfold. It's absurd, ridiculous and quite idiotic, to be completely honest, and yet it's creative and there's something incredibly fascinating about it. Maybe it's its uniqueness, its being so out of the box, so unusual, or maybe the fact that it's a heartwarming and humorous story of an unlikely friendship, or the social commentary the filmmakers are able to make with such a silly story as it deals with social norms, bullying as well as (self-)love, sex, death and the importance of being yourself.
It's the characters though that I loved the most about Swiss Army Man. They are brilliantly written and as a result, you truly care about them. It also helps that there's terrific chemistry between the two leads which makes the characters' relationship feel genuine, real. Paul Dano gives a great performance as Hank and delivers the character's feelings so effortlessly. It's Daniel Radcliffe who gives the standout performance though, arguably the best —as well as my favourite— of his career, as he is incredibly hilarious in the role of the corpse —the things he does with his body and face are unbelievable, not to mention how much life he manages to bring into a dead character, literally.
The humour is juvenile and quite vulgar —there are so many fart and dick jokes it's impossible to keep count— but, surprisingly, it's never off-putting as they fit the weirdness of the film to perfection. It's the quite offensive and crude jokes that are the most effective and they will make you laugh out loud very often. I don't know what it is, but there's something about the jokes and the way they are delivered, that makes even fart jokes sound like poetry.
What the fuck am I watching, was my first through as the plot to Swiss Army Man began to unfold. It's absurd, ridiculous and quite idiotic, to be completely honest, and yet it's creative and there's something incredibly fascinating about it. Maybe it's its uniqueness, its being so out of the box, so unusual, or maybe the fact that it's a heartwarming and humorous story of an unlikely friendship, or the social commentary the filmmakers are able to make with such a silly story as it deals with social norms, bullying as well as (self-)love, sex, death and the importance of being yourself.
It's the characters though that I loved the most about Swiss Army Man. They are brilliantly written and as a result, you truly care about them. It also helps that there's terrific chemistry between the two leads which makes the characters' relationship feel genuine, real. Paul Dano gives a great performance as Hank and delivers the character's feelings so effortlessly. It's Daniel Radcliffe who gives the standout performance though, arguably the best —as well as my favourite— of his career, as he is incredibly hilarious in the role of the corpse —the things he does with his body and face are unbelievable, not to mention how much life he manages to bring into a dead character, literally.
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| A24 |
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