In Men, Harper (Jessie Buckley) is trying to get over the suicide of her abusive husband so rents a remote house to stay in for a fortnight. But almost as soon as she is there, a series of strange events occur. I have not been fully convinced by writer/director Alex Garland’s work before but with Men, he has delivered a very unsettling story in an extremely inventive way. Buckley is brilliant, as always, conveying both the vulnerability and resilience of her character.
Garland leaves a lot for the viewer to work out for themselves. Aside from flashbacks involving Harper’s husband, every male character from the friendly landlord to the seedy vicar via a foul mouthed child are played by Rory Kinnear in a fantastic set of performances. I took that as being a comment on how all men are the same, or at least that is how Harper views them after her traumatic experience.
As is so often the case, the film works best in the first two acts when the appearances of Kinnear are often fleeting and most of the situations are grounded in reality. Towards the end, the story does go full on bonkers and, I think, loses some of its eerie power.
But, it remains one of the most thought provoking and creepiest watches of the year. I imagine it will cause some viewers nightmares, but mine are more likely to be full of images of the film I watched directly afterwards. Bob’s Burgers has had some positive reviews, many from people, like me, who have not seen any of the TV series that it has been spun off from.
However, this tired animation of a family trying to save their restaurant whilst also solving a murder left me cold. The jokes fell flat and I struggled to understand whilst nearly everyone sounded liked they were being voiced by the same person. By the time that the cast burst into song for the second time, I had had enough.
Men rating: 8 out of 10
Bob’s Burgers rating: 2.5 out of 10