Written and Directed by Alex Garland
Starring Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Essiedu and Gayle Rankin

Menace. Enemy. Manhandle.

Each of those words aptly describes the encounters this film’s female protagonist will have with those whose identities match the titular plural noun that is derived from them.

Seeking a change of scenery after the traumatic death of her husband, Harper (Jessie Buckley) drives solo through picturesque English countryside on her way to a 500-year-old guesthouse she’ll be temporarily residing at. Upon her arrival, she’s greeted by a friendly yet unmistakably odd proprietor, Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear), who happily takes her on a tour of the house while being inquisitive about the absence of a male companion. Aside from work meetings, Harper’s only other phone communication is with trusted friend and confidant, Riley (Gayle Rankin). Though the setting is just what the doctor ordered, Harper continues to have flashbacks of her crumbling marriage to James (Paapa Essiedu) and realises his grisly demise will continue to haunt her in ways she could never have predicted.

A trinity of intriguing establishments are solidly formed in Men. In no particular order, the most obvious development to the eyes and senses is the plot’s gradual footsteps being taken towards the horror genre. Though unsettling from the moment Harper is alone after Geoffrey’s weird welcoming, Men becomes genuinely very creepy from the scene pictured above where Harper explores the local woods. The film’s consistent ease of pacing and its creatively integrated score contribute heavily to its creepiness having such potent presence. Then there’s the psychological aspect at play. We know that past trauma can haunt in the present, so how much of what is going on actually isn’t!? Finally, and arguably most intriguing of all, are any themes that can be derived from the screenplay and how the film utilises its folk horror genre to observe them. For instance, the blame attributed to women for the wrongdoing actions of men. The use of emotional manipulation as a control mechanism.

Writer and director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) successfully transforms an at-first familiar concept into a more original piece of work as he develops each of those facets, but an over-reliance on grotesque body horror during the final act grossly disappoints. This bizarre conclusion tries to make the implausible plausible and in doing so demonstrates an inability to cohesively connect and conclude its narrative. Nevertheless, my still standing strong rating can be justified by judging the film as a whole rather than solely by its final minutes and by the precision performance that anchors viewers to the screen from the increasingly versatile and talented Jessie Buckley.

Men is showing in cinemas across Australia from June 16th.

Moviedoc thanks Roadshow Films for the invite to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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