If ever there was a movie that's difficult to recommend, or even describe, to someone who hasn't seen it, it's SWISS ARMY MAN. It's a comedy of sorts. You could probably even call it a romantic comedy. Or maybe it's more "bromantic" comedy. It's never made entirely clear what the relationship is between Paul Dano's Hank and the corpse he befriends (Daniel Radcliffe) when stranded on a diminutive island. Hank discovers the dead man, named Manny, when he washes ashore on the island where Hank's been surviving since whatever shipwreck left him there. Manny saves Hank's life; Hank was about to hang himself when Manny came along with his rocket-propelling flatulence. Hank is able to ride Manny like a jet ski back to the mainland. Little by little, Hank discovers there's more to Manny than one might believe. Aside from rocket flatulence, he's capable of vomiting up an apparent limitless reservoir of fresh water, directing them home with his dowsing rod erection, and hyper-powered karate chop action. Manny has essentially returned to pseudo-life, but he's still a corpse and he has no memory of anything from life. Right down to the basics. As Hank and Manny traverse the wilderness from the shore to civilization, Hank passes the time by explaining life and living, going so far as to build elaborate props so Manny can experience life himself. So if the premise of a miserable soul finding personal connection with a dead man with explosive gas sounds appealing, there you are.
Obviously, SWISS ARMY MAN is a tough sell to the mainstream audience. The strange combination of the movie's juvenile humor with the heartfelt relationship at its core can be a rough watch for some. The movie kept bouncing between these two tones and I was generally annoyed with it. A sudden shift out of a touching moment of Manny rediscovering life with an erection joke cheapens the scene and lessens its impact (for me), and the reverse is just as aggravating because the stupid humor is the more entertaining part and I realize I would've been more content to watch an entire movie of Hank and Manny's adventures without, you know, the less interesting relationship element. The tonal shifts and the overly sappy life moments meant I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hope to. I was excited for this movie because an insane premise like that deserves a chance and, while I'd recommend anyone watch this movie and decide for themselves, it wouldn't be an enthusiastic recommendation. The performances give it a little extra something. Paul Dano is a great actor and kills it as the pathetic soul Hank as he finds someone who cares about him, even if that person is a corpse. Daniel Radcliffe must've been eager to reinforce that he'd moved on since Harry Potter because Manny is just about the strangest possible role he could've taken. And you know what? He's actually really, really good. Manny is the juicier role and he nails it.
Dano and Radcliffe have a great chemistry, which is good since they are 95% of the movie until the last 5-10 minutes or so. This movie is very much two men wandering through the wilderness as one teaches the other about life and existence through the use of props and setpieces made from scraps and garbage. If nothing else, I can say SWISS ARMY MAN is the most creative film I've seen this year. I know it wasn't really the focus of the film and all but I would've loved a bit more explanation on what exactly the deal with Manny was. I started the movie believing him to be a manifestation of Hank's starved/sun-baked mind but he's able to interact with his environment and even speaks to one other person by the end. So if he's a real talking corpse, why hide his powers from everyone but Hank? And where does a talking corpse come from? Is he the only one? Am I over-thinking it? Yes. Because I was more interested in what Manny's deal was than the personal journey of these characters. I might not be the best person to give a recommendation on whether to watch this or not because obviously I walked away from it with a complete different focus than what was intended by the filmmakers. Something tells me this movie is going to be polarizing though. My friend complained when I made him watch MOON; I can only imagine the crap I'd get for this one.
Obviously, SWISS ARMY MAN is a tough sell to the mainstream audience. The strange combination of the movie's juvenile humor with the heartfelt relationship at its core can be a rough watch for some. The movie kept bouncing between these two tones and I was generally annoyed with it. A sudden shift out of a touching moment of Manny rediscovering life with an erection joke cheapens the scene and lessens its impact (for me), and the reverse is just as aggravating because the stupid humor is the more entertaining part and I realize I would've been more content to watch an entire movie of Hank and Manny's adventures without, you know, the less interesting relationship element. The tonal shifts and the overly sappy life moments meant I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hope to. I was excited for this movie because an insane premise like that deserves a chance and, while I'd recommend anyone watch this movie and decide for themselves, it wouldn't be an enthusiastic recommendation. The performances give it a little extra something. Paul Dano is a great actor and kills it as the pathetic soul Hank as he finds someone who cares about him, even if that person is a corpse. Daniel Radcliffe must've been eager to reinforce that he'd moved on since Harry Potter because Manny is just about the strangest possible role he could've taken. And you know what? He's actually really, really good. Manny is the juicier role and he nails it.
Dano and Radcliffe have a great chemistry, which is good since they are 95% of the movie until the last 5-10 minutes or so. This movie is very much two men wandering through the wilderness as one teaches the other about life and existence through the use of props and setpieces made from scraps and garbage. If nothing else, I can say SWISS ARMY MAN is the most creative film I've seen this year. I know it wasn't really the focus of the film and all but I would've loved a bit more explanation on what exactly the deal with Manny was. I started the movie believing him to be a manifestation of Hank's starved/sun-baked mind but he's able to interact with his environment and even speaks to one other person by the end. So if he's a real talking corpse, why hide his powers from everyone but Hank? And where does a talking corpse come from? Is he the only one? Am I over-thinking it? Yes. Because I was more interested in what Manny's deal was than the personal journey of these characters. I might not be the best person to give a recommendation on whether to watch this or not because obviously I walked away from it with a complete different focus than what was intended by the filmmakers. Something tells me this movie is going to be polarizing though. My friend complained when I made him watch MOON; I can only imagine the crap I'd get for this one.