Thursday, March 07, 2019

Swiss Army Man

Hank (Paul Dato) is initially stranded on an island, and later lost in the woods somewhere on the mainland, his only companion a corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) that had washed up onshore while he was stranded. Hank brings the corpse along with him, and eventually it starts to speak to him. Hank, willingly or unwillingly lays open how empty and useless he felt his life was in the course of explaining to "Manny" all the various aspects of life. The things you could do, or experience, if you were willing to take the chance. Which Hank had not.

I didn't actually finish the movie. There were about 7 minutes to go until the credits, and things looked like they were going to get incredibly awkward and pitiful, and I just wasn't up for that. Up to that point, it was darkly comic, this guy lugging a corpse through the woods, the corpse asking for clarification about all buses, or who you don't want to be thinking of when you masturbate.

Radcliffe manages this effective slurring to his voice to convey someone who can't fully use their mouth or keep their head from lolling over to one side. Initially, I thought he was going to be literally a lifeless corpse Hank would drag around and gradually dismember for various useful parts, so it was a bit of a surprise that wasn't the case. I imagine how pitiable you find Hank is going to vary. I don't know if it helps or hurts his case that he knows how much his insecurities hold him back, but can't manage to get past them.

(I know there's a chance that's what happens in the final 7 minutes, but it didn't feel like the kind of movie that would have that sort of triumphant ending.)

The movie manages to shift between the absurd comic elements and the sadder things pretty well, so it's worth a watch if you have the time.

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