Film: Midsommar

Tonight, I was thinking film - but not being enthused about what was coming up, I booked a cheap ticket to Remember, at the Cockpit, instead. But hey, you know, we were chatting about it last night.. and when I checked the ratings, whaddya know but Midsommar finally came out on top! I've had my eye on this for ages - it's rare for a horror film to stay so highly rated for so long. Written and directed by Ari Aster, the same guy as Hereditary, it promised to be extremely well-made - the director's cut is showing in Picturehouse Central. A straightforward enough story, it has a group of American pals - and one very reluctant girlfriend - travelling to Sweden for a rare midsummer festival. We might know where this is going - but how would they get there?

Me, I got there a little late - but then, it was a very early start time. 6pm is a little tricky for me to make, but I pretty much managed it. Then I had to queue for a ticket - it hadn't been booking out, so I didn't book in advance. And don't you just hate it when - having finished with the person in front of you - the person behind the till just stares into the middle distance, anywhere but at you.. somebody should teach some of the staff here about customer service. Anyway, she did eventually get me to choose a seat - and gee, all of a sudden they were almost sold out! Well, apart from the front row. So I chose one of the two remaining seats in the second row, and off I went - arriving just in time for the trailers. Including a good one for Ad Astra. Well, we shall see. I settled back in my comfy seat, and it wasn't long before the film started.

Now, this isn't at all a typical horror film - he's a very interesting film-maker, and I'd describe this more as a psychedelic trip. The director's cut is about half an hour longer than the main release, which allows him to fit in longer shots, and linger more. I really appreciated that - I'm glad I saw the longer version. Because it's seriously trippy; the camera work is incredible - just as I was constantly looking for colour in Pain and Glory, here I found myself constantly looking for the surreal. Upside-down camera angles: backgrounds that keep swimming, like a mirage: things that really shouldn't be moving, but just do.

It starts with the most perfectly crafted exposition of why our heroine is in a rather damaged state. I really admire a story told in minimalist fashion - and her personal trauma is told practically without words, but with the most striking images.. anyway, to cut a long story a bit shorter, this is what persuades her rather reluctant boyfriend (who doesn't seem to want either the trouble of the relationship or the trouble of ending it) to invite her on this junket he's on with the lads. One of their group of college friends is Swedish, see, and has invited them all to a midsummer festival in his hometown - one has a valid reason for going, as he wants to do a thesis based around this stuff; the others are just planning a holiday. When she finds out, he's kind of obliged to ask her to come too. (No, of course you're not cramping our style!)

Welcome to the most friggin' surreal midsummer festival you're likely to come across. The drugs start early - which gives the director full license to have the landscape swimming in the background. The locals are all dressed for the occasion, in white - the foreigners, in darker colours, really stand out. A lot of untranslated Swedish is spoken, with the odd person speaking English for the benefit of the visitors. All very friendly - and all taken very seriously by the locals, with the mood lightened periodically, with perfect timing, by one of the Americans in particular.

It doesn't take long for the visitors to start to get a bit freaked by some of the more extreme customs of the community. And as they start breaking some of the rules - well, what you might expect to happen, does. As someone remarked, instead of jump scares, what you have here is a long, slow approach, where you can see the horror crawling towards you. You have plenty of time to anticipate it. And when it finally happens, it's no less shocking for having been predictable! Having said that, it didn't turn out quite as I was expecting..

The director himself has said that this is his take on a break-up film. The couple at the centre of the film are obviously not right for each other.. and with her being a psychology student, and practising on him, you get some classic arguments between them, her trying to get him to emote, and him wishing she'd just stop talking. This caused much mirth in the room I was sitting in - one woman in our row nearly fell off her seat with laughing. Gotta say, it's the most interesting break-up solution I think I've ever seen.

Not recommended, doubtless, by relationship counsellors. Neither do I think it's a great ad for the Swedish tourist board, despite the pretty scenery. But my goodness, what a film! It's a while since I walked out of a film still so engrossed that I expected to be walking into the film as I left the cinema. And, by the way, feeling like I'd been on a trip! (of the chemical variety). Highly recommended. Contains nudity.

Tomorrow, back with the London European Club for a Scottish ceilidh! It's at Cecil Sharpe House. I had to cancel the last one of these I booked for, so hopefully I make this one!

On Saturday, London Dramatic Arts is off to see Two Ladies, with Zoe Wanamaker, at the Bridge Theatre. So am I - for half the price! (shh..) Going on my own, and will be avoiding them, as she takes umbrage at that sort of thing.

On Sunday, back with The Embers Collective - they haven't yet revealed the venue for Mischief on the Marshes! They did say, when I asked, that they'd tell me midweek..

On Monday, finally going to see Waitress, which I had to cancel earlier in the year. It's at the Adelphi.

On Tuesday, some comedy, with Shappi Khorsandi, at Soho Theatre.

On Wednesday, back with Civilised London (CL) for a Lebanese meal at Al Waha, meeting beforehand at the Prince Alfred. Then I'm back to Ireland for a long weekend.

On the 23rd, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) - again, it'll have been nearly three weeks since I was last with them! The occasion is a production of Giselle, by the English National Ballet, at Sadler's Wells.

On the 24th, back with North London Friends, to Donmar Warehouse, for Appropriate.

On the 25th, the Crick Crack Club is back! Tricksters & Fools is at Rich Mix - it's another in Crick Crack's Archetypes series, and stars Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, Tim Ralphs, TUUP, and Nell Phoenix.

On the 26th, UITCS is back with Groan Ups, at the Vaudeville.

On the 27th, Love London Theatre, Arts, Music & Stuff is at Our Lady of Kibeho, at the Theatre Royal Stratford. Ahah, I knew I'd booked something else with them!

And on the 28th, I booked for the matinee of Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp. at the Royal Court. And then CL organised an outing to see London Concertante perform the Four Seasons at Southwark Cathedral. What the hey, I figure I can make both! It's ages since I heard it, in fact.. and it'll be a nostalgic trip for me, as my very first Meetup with the Man with the Hat was to listen to Concertante in Southwark Cathedral. He's much missed.