Review of Swiss Army Man (2016) by Cuddyclothest — 30 Dec 2016

TL:DR (RECAP & REVIEW) This crazy, sweet, deep movie, replete with farts and boners, is the best movie I have seen for years. Paul Dano as Hank and Daniel Radcliffe as dead Manny are spectacular. There is tremendous chemistry between the two actors, who are pretty much the whole show until the end. Daniels, the directors, use deliberately low-tech effects (and a real bear) to give the feeling of physical reality. Instead of the CGI many other filmmakers use. The soundtrack is acappella. Andrew Hull of Manchester Orchestra layers the soundtrack with dozens of voice played over each other. Not only that, Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe sing quite a bit of the score. After I saw this mindbending movie, I looked up the lyrics to each song to see what they met. Hank is stranded on a desert island. The first thing we say is trash bobbing in the water, with the words HELP ME and MY BOAT WAS CAUGHT IN A STORM. One toy boat is made out of garbage, prefiguring Hank's ability to create environments and creatures out of found materials.

Hank is about to commit suicide when a corpse washes up on the beach. When he discovers the man is dead, Hank goes to kill himself again. But the corpse starts farting, and the farts propel the corpse through the water. Hank grabs a robe, jumps on the corpse and rides him like a jet-ski. At this point, the credits come up, and goddamn if it that isn't a perfect way to introduce something that asks so much of your imagination.

Hank labors to get home, the dead man strapped to his back. To keep the corpse from farting, Hank finds a cork (We don't see what happens next.) The dead man, named Manny, slowly comes to life. He has magical powers, such as a boner that can be used as a compass. Daniel Radcliffe has to do 75% of his acting using only his face and eyes. Since Manny is dead, he doesn't move of his own volition from the neck down. (This results in a lot of priceless slapstick.) Manny is slurred and slow, becoming more articulate as the film goes on. Hank is caught up in teaching Manny what the world is, what love is, what feelings are. Paul Dano excels at playing a man who would be seen as a isolated introvert, but Manny, in a sense, brings Hank to life. Manny sees a picture of a beautiful woman on Hank's cell phone, Sarah Johnson, and declares that's why they have to get 'home'. Hank and Manny's friendship becomes a bond, and possibly a romantic one, as Hank dresses as "Sarah" to try to jog Manny's memory of his life. He reenacts the only flashback we see, Hank sitting on the bus, alone. Only this time, Hank dresses as Sarah, leading Manny through sitting next to "Sarah" and holding her hand.

Sarah/Hank blend more as the story goes along. Manny is in love with Sarah, and with Hank. As he says, "maybe love is bringing me to life". Hank creates a world for them to live in, with a sort of house, a car, even a makeshift bus. One night, they both get drunk and throw a "party". Hank helps Manny to dance by puppeteering his friend with vines. Manny demands to talk to Sarah. Hank puts on the wig, and leans to kiss Manny, who falls over. They put it down to drunkeness. Later in the film, Hank crawls across a water pipe, Manny strapped to his back. Manny feels there's something important that Hank needs to say. Hank cuts him off; but the pipe they're on breaks and they are plunged into the river far below. Underwater, Hank sees Manny drifting down into the water. Hank swims down, grabs Manny, and kisses him. This is interspersed with shots of "Sarah" and Manny echoing Hank's gestures. Manny is happy, and air pours out of his mouth. Hank realizes it, and continues to kiss him, the quiet sound of breathing the only thing we hear as they drift downward into the darkness. Then the cork comes bobbing to the surface. As the triumphant "River Rocket" song plays, they fly up into the air, ecstatic.

There's still a lot that happens, but I'm going to skip it. At the end, Hank and Manny reach "home", the backyard of the woman whose picture is on Hank's phone. She's married, with a kid, and is completely freaked to see a disheveled man and a corpse on her lawn. Manny is again dead. Has he been dead this whole time? Has this all taken place in Hank's brain? Suffice to say, it has not. The suburban setting and all that follows is a jarring transition from the rest of the movie and doesn't work. The ending is deeply unsatisfying. The protagonists are separated for good, and Hank is again alone. Whether or not you choose to see that as a good or bad thing is up to you. It left a very bad taste in my mouth.

But this is a great movie by any measure.