Review of Swiss Army Man (2016) by Ashish G — 04 Oct 2016

If you have seen any of the trailers or promotional materials, you will know that Swiss Army Man looks bizarre. Having now witnessed it first hand, in a screen full of like minded curious cinema goers, I can confirm that Swiss Army Man is even more bizarre than you'd ever believe.

The most important thing to note however is the undeniable fact that the film is not weird for the sake of being weird and that every scene, every morbid exchange of dialogue and every corpse fart has a genuine purpose that propels the narrative and themes.

Paul Dano does as Paul Dano does and shines in the film playing the albeit type cast loser/loner role of Hank that he slips into gracefully and is empathetic from the word go when we see him tie a noose around his neck within the pre-title sequence.

His co-star Daniel Radcliffe on the other hand certainly gives his best performance on screen yet playing the flatulent corpse Manny by showcasing great physicality with great heart and warmth despite playing waterlogged stiff.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is also a key role with in the film as the object of Manny and Hank's affection where the direction and presentation of her character is extremely well handled, subverted and utilised perfectly before our very eyes.

Another major factor to note is that Swiss Army Man's talking points and dialogue are often insightful and life affirming but never verge on whiny or come off overly quirky when Hank and Manny exchange views on loneliness, friendship and the meaning of life.

This is made all the better when it is balanced with quotable, acerbic and hilarious one liners. One thing that sprang to mind while watching Swiss Army Man was that, in comparison, Kevin Smith's latest movies like Tusk and Yoga Hosers claim to be films that "no one in their right minds would make" due to their humour and peculiar subject matter which is predominately childish and have a lack of depth.

Swiss Army Man goes to show that you CAN make barmy and experimental films in the modern cinematic landscape that can garner critical acclaim just as long as every facet of the production is well thought out and every self proclaimed weird idea you have serves to benefit the overall story.

The film is worth price of admission for the pre-title scene alone, so please! If you are curious and want to see a left field film that doesn't come around as often as it should, give Swiss Army Man a watch.