Personally, I think this movie is weird in the most interesting way possible. First off, starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe makes such a peculiar duo to watch on screen. I had never really seen or remember seeing Paul Dano's work besides watching him in The Batman (2022) and I thought he was a spectacular villain in that movie. Seeing him in Swiss Army Man playing the role of protagonist was refreshing for me since he is playing the complete opposite role of a villain. It is also bizarre to see Daniel Radcliffe, the main protagonist Harry FREAKING Potter taking a sidestep as an endearing, funny and innocent deuteragonist in this film. The fantastical nature of this film - a sentient corpse with multiple different functions like vomiting clean water or farting out extremely pressurized air to act as a motorboat, adds to the fun of the film and detracts from the core darkness of this movie, that of which we are introduced to at the very beginning of the film.
Hank, our protagonist is shown about to hang himself right off the coast of some random beach, until the corpse which he names Manny, washes ashore. As the film progresses we see Manny showcase his various abilities to the aid of Hank as Hank tries to survive the wild and find civilization. We also witness Manny develop more human-like features as he interacts more and more with Hank, soon being able to talk, have emotions, and even walk. Hank and Manny even share a kiss. We dive deep into who Hank is and we find out toward the end that he lied to Manny about who he is or rather who Sarah is to Hank. To Hank, Sarah is just a stranger who he is obsessed with. This revelation almost ruins Hank and Manny's relationship, but eventually leads them both back to civilization. Hank and Manny then confront Sarah and her family in her yard and Manny ends up behaving like a corpse again. Hank, indebted to Manny, returns to the forest and beach where they were lost in and cops and company follow. This revealed how close Sarah's house was to the beach where Hank initially attempted suicide. We then witness this magical moment where Manny is revived and he showcases his powers to everyone as he leaves and Hank and him share one final look.
My favorite scene from this movie was at the beginning when Hank initially discovers Manny and notices his flatulence. The part where Hank comes down and sees Manny gliding on the water due to his farts and then decides to use him as a sort of motorboat was absolutely hilarious to me. This moment set the tone that we would be watching what is categorized as a surrealist comedy-drama. The juxtaposition of witnessing someone's attempted suicided to the fantastical nature of a corpse farting to simulate a motorboat is what stood out for me. It's almost so extremely ridiculous to believe when you put yourself in that situation. From the perspective of Hank, who was already at rock bottom and willing to throw away what little he probably had, seeing a farting corpse gliding across the ocean would be the least of his worries.
Comments
Post a Comment