Alex Garland loves to explore relationships and connections. In Annihilation, the backdrop of the Lovecraftian cosmic horror movie was heavily rooted in a story about a struggling marriage. Ex Machina demonstrated the need for connection through an AI robot playing mental chess. His latest feature Men, leans more heavily into the realm of Annihilation, providing a dark and mystifying examination of emotional trauma through a marriage gone horribly wrong.
Alex Garland's Men is his first departure from sci-fi (this includes the television series Devs). But while it is not rooted in sci-fi elements, Garland's approach with Men feels otherworldly. Somehow, he has made toxic male behavior feel as aggressive and alien as a Xenomorph. Only here, Jessie Buckley is Ripley and Rory Kinnear is the space monster. With all this explained, Garland has crafted a story here far more perplexing than some viewers might be accustomed to.
The film centers on Harper Marlowe (Jessie Buckley), a recent widower who journeys towards a vacation home deep in the countryside of England. The destination is never named but feels quiet and rural. The cinematography brightens the greens and colors of the location, showing off the vibrancy of the safe getaway. It's a visual technique that worked well in Annihilation to make the plant-life shimmer.
As Harper gets settled into the home, the film introduces the caretaker of the estate. This man named Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear) has a jolly nature and feels mostly friendly (at first). Once alone, there are flashbacks of Harper's life prior to her departure. There are quick cuts of her husband James (Paapa Essiedu) dropping past a window in slow motion while Harper screams in terror watching. These are followed by quick glimpses of their toxic life together before he died. What is abundantly clear is Harper came to this place to heal and she is very reserved about discussing what led to her husband's death.
Harper's attempt to mend becomes disrupted as strange things begin to happen around the house and inside the town. As seen in the trailer, she takes a quiet walk to loosen up and get to know her surroundings when she finds a long tunnel with playful echo acoustics. But she is soon chased by a mysterious man lacking any clothing. This is followed by other strange happenings as almost every man she encounters is either nasty, crude, rude, or dismissive of her. This includes a man of the cloth, who tells Harper her husband's death is her fault. And in A24 fashion, the extra level of oddities from the film Men is that all these "men" look exactly like Geoffrey.
Jessie Buckley carries the terror and nuance of Men with incredible vulnerability, adding this to the list of great female-led horror movies by A24. But the real star of this movie is Rory Kinnear playing several different personas in one powerhouse horror film. There are scenes and situations that demand a lot from him as a performer. Men in its final moments puts Kinnear in situations that are vicious, weird, and just flat-out uncomfortable in nature. It takes an extremely talented actor to be pushed towards this territory and Kinnear is brave for doing so.
The scripting choice of having multiple Kinnears will leave some viewers perplexed. Men does not bother with explanations or straightforward answers to these creative choices. Because of this, Men will not be a movie for everyone, but one can argue Alex Garland did not intend it to be. This is further cemented by a finale that while baffling will have audiences talking about it long after leaving the theater.
Before seeing Men, the attendee needs to ask themselves what kind of moviegoer they are individually. If abstract horror such as Darren Aronofsky's Mother! or Black Swan was more frustrating than entertaining, well, this is going to induce similar feelings. Those who enjoy cryptic storytelling and unpacking possible meanings and dissecting themes will have a ball with Men.
The underlying message within Garland's latest effort reads like a painting about toxic masculinity, where each person can get a different take on what it's trying to say. The story unveils moments between Harper and her ex's abusive behavior, and the controlling nature he exhibited leading up to his death. The result is an exploration of grief and trauma manifesting itself in every direction, arguably explaining why Harper sees the same persona in every man she meets.
With Men, director Alex Garland continues to challenge himself as well as his audience. He could have followed the same path as Robert Eggers did with The Northman and made a straightforward accessible (albeit gorgeously made) epic but instead he has quarterbacked a distinctive horror film that keeps the mind in conversation. Regardless of its ambiguity, Men is continued proof that Alex Garland is one of the most interesting storytellers working today.
Men will release in theaters everywhere starting tomorrow.