Men [Blu-ray] [DVD]

Well, well well. I had read some fairly negative reviews of this mildly insane thriller from Ex Machina and Annihilation helmer, Alex Garland. And some reviews that proclaimed it "important" as a feminist "Get Out".Yeah, it is something. Not sure what, though. Garland is a skilled film-maker, so, as a piece of film craftpersonship "Men" is solid, if not excellent. A perfectly self-contained story, set in a trope-y English country village, with good acting by Jessie Buckley and Penny Dreadful's wonderful Rory Kinnear. Its like a good creme brulee or something.But, did I want creme brulee? Or, did I even want desert? The problem with "Men", if there is a problem, is that it appears to be a scathing (withering?) indictment of Toxic Masculinity, perhaps along the lines of the equally insane "Titane" by Julia Ducournau. Or a deconstruction of hetero-normative relations, like the moderately insane, and brilliant, "The Lobster" by Yorgos Lanthimos.Buckley plays a young-ish Londoner who has escaped to the Countryside to mourn (?) the death of her Husband. Said death is told in flash back scenes of increasing depth that attempt to frame the current story, which starts out creepy and just goes downhill from there.She arrives at an English Country house owned and AirBnB'd by the buck-toothed Jeffrey, played with scenery-chewing relish by Kinnear. As Jeffrey shows our heroine around the home, he seems just a bit too familiar, a bit too awkward and way too toothsome.The expressionist hair and makeup for Jeffrey pre-sages one of the more harrowing techniques in the film. All of the male characters -- the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker (no really, the bar owner, the priest, the cop, etc,) -- are all played by Kinnear. In order to not make that too obvious, each character has some over the top aspect of their appearance that seems to initially set them apart. With Jeffrey, the teeth. With the Priest, the hair.This all becomes problematic when she encounters a young punk of a boy that seems to have had Kinnear's face painted on him with CGI. That is either very scary or very hilarious. And how you view that will largely determine how you judge "Men." The Third Reel asks the viewer to believe, in fact, that all of "the men" she has encountered -- and, who all seem to want to kill her -- are actually the same man.Is this some fever dream as she wrestles with guilt over hubby's death (no spoilers)? Or, do quiet English villages actually feature, many worlds style, multiple versions of the same toxic male, who all want to kill our heroine? These questions, and more, may be fun to ask. Again, depending on your view of Garland's film.

I really had no idea what to expect with this film. I knew and admired Alex Garland's work and my wife and I had wanted to watch this, but I couldn't remember why. The Blu-Ray was so cheap that I just took a chance and bought it without really knowing much about the film.We watched it tonight and I was completely blown away. I think this is one of the five most visually impactful films I have ever seen--and I've seen thousands. The cinematography was stunning. The score was amazing. The acting was brilliant. It's an absolute crime if this isn't nominated for at least three Oscars--and yet I completely understand why so many people will hate it.In a nutshell, the story is about a woman coming to terms with a traumatic event in her life and exploring her relationship to men. I find it intriguing that Ex Machina, Garland's first major film, explores the nature of femininity while this one takes an unflattering look at masculinity.This film is textbook arthouse horror. Normally I don't care for the genre, but this one really moved me. The plot/story is left intentionally vague. If you're looking for answers and meanings, you WON'T get them. That can be incredibly frustrating for some, but in this case it just worked for me. You also cannot take the film literally. What you see on the screen may is not always real, but rather symbolic. Again, this can be very annoying to some.My admiration for this film is immense, but I will concede that the last 10 minutes are completely over the top. I honestly wish it has been handled in a less graphic way. It would have made the film better to me, but the director chose to push boundaries. That's his prerogative and I accept it.Even if you hate the story you really should watch this film for the cinematography and score. This film has not one, but two of the most memorable visuals I have ever seen and they have nothing to do with the last ten minutes. One thing that really bugs me is the lack of supplemental materials with the disc. There is so much more I want to know about the film, like whether or not some of the shots were CGI or real. I could watch hours of extras related to this and still have questions. I can only hope Criterion gets a hold of it and adds some bonus material, but I know that's unlikely. I also wish I could get a 4K UHD version for the visuals.If you're into arthouse horror, you must see this film. Even if you don't usually care for it, you should give this one a chance. I'm not generally a fan either, but this film absolutely blew me away!

This movie is not for everyone, which to add context is a good thing not everyone should like every movie nor should we try to appeal to everyone let it be weird.The film comments on toxic masculinity at a personal and societal level. It’s genuinely very beautiful and has an ending that’s worth watching for yourself. It really goes for it on the last half hour.I don’t love this film but I’m glad to have watched it and don’t regret purchasing it. This is very much an art film, it’s slow and takes its time and if that sounds at all appealing to you this movie is worth watching.If that does not sound good to you do not watch this film, especially if you’re sensitive to criticism of men because you’ll just be that guy screaming about how it was the worst ever. It’s not, it’s weird and knows what it’s going for and much of the film is really wonderful and horrifying.I think it’s very focused on the message but doesn’t fully get that point across in a way that matters. It defiantly knows what it’s going to say but it isn’t a piece that I think will convince people, something like The Art of Self Defense does that better.Performances are phenomenal, the sound is excellent, and overall I think this is exceedingly well made. My trouble comes in asking who it is for, I agree with the movie and like the messaging it is trying to get across.But at the same time I’m conflicted because I already agreed with those things, I already thought those things. And in the act of themeing so hard I feel that the pretense of plot is dropped, and really I prefer when those two work together.To summarize: weird as hell and that makes it worth it alone. But if weird as hell doesn’t sound appealing to you then this ain’t for you.

"Men", directed by Alex Garland, is sold as a horror film but there are underlying references to misogyny as Jessie Buckley escapes to the countryside to rent a house in order to get over a bereavement, which in itself is a horror story, albeit a domestic one. The cinematography is beautiful and adds to the overall compelling experience before the viewer. Rory Kinnear is the gentleman property owner who rents the house out to Buckley and he appears throughout the movie in various guises which seem to be tricks of Buckley's mind as there is no other explanation as far as i could see. The atmosphere throughout is tense and if you are looking for something different in a horror film and prepared to think about what the motives might be, it is something of a brain challenge and a very intellent film to view. After seeing Jessie Buckley, who started in show business as a singer, in quite a lot of dramas both on film and TV, I'm convinced she the most exciting actress now working in movies.

Started well but with poor plot , script and dodgy CGI it lost its way .

The CD didn’t work, total rip off will be sending back.

Je dois dire que je suis assez déçu par ce film car j’ai regardé la bande-annonce et il m’avait pas mal alors j’ai donc décidé de le commander et j’ai été vraiment très déçu.Je n’ai rien compris au film et c’est à la fois glauque, malsain et vraiment bizarre comme film.Vraiment un navet et c’est vraiment nul comme film franchement je ne comprends pas pourquoi ils produisent des daubes pareil c’est vraiment nul à chier. N’achetez pas ce film sauf si vous voulez gaspiller votre argent ! Incroyablement nul à chier !

Il s'agit bien de la toxicité masculine qui est mise en avant sur ce MEN...apres annihilation et ex machina Alex Garland nous propose un film complètement différent de ces précédents films..Avec un final revelateur que david cronenberg doit jalouser tantcon est dans un grand moment de body horror ..4 etoiles pour moi