Swiss Army Man

Before you read this review please, please watch the trailer. (Here you go)

Yes, this is the movie about a farting corpse. However there is more to it than that. It's hard to define Swiss Army Man to a certain genre. It's definitely comedy but there's also a bit of romance in it as well.

Basically the movie opens as Paul Dano's (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood) character (Hank) as he's stranded on a small island and he is about to hang himself. Suddenly he notices a body played by Daniel Radcliffe (You know who he is!, Manny) and long story short he rides the farting body to a bigger island where they work together to get back to society when Hank finds out that Manny is conscious. There's no denying that this movie is unique and it certainly makes a great case for why movies are more unique and to be treasured than TV.

If Adam Sandler had played Hank and Kevin James played Manny the movie would loose all of it's unique approach to the subject manner. Unlike Adam Sandler's movies Swiss Army Man's script brings a lot more development and emotional weight to the characters. Dano and Radcliffe too, manage to bring plenty of skill and talent to the table. Their performances don't ever feel like you're watching amateurs, they're both being professionals even in a movie ridiculous as this one and I'm sure all of the cast and crew had fun making this film as well.

The real weight of the movie comes from the dynamics and chemistry between the two leads. The movie deals with ideas that we don't think about on a daily basis on a broad spectrum like why we fart when we're alone and all the way to standing up for a friend. The film doesn't shy away from concepts and ideas like love and masturbation too.

The scenes where the characters shine the most are when Hank shows Manny what love and talking to a girl you adore is like. The visuals and editing in these scene add to the creativity of this movie by using harsh highlights, lens flares and a blue colour palette. This thanks to the directing from The Daniels (as they're credited).

With an idea as ridiculous as this one, it was anticipated that the movie might get a bit over the top but I only found that in one or two scenes. The characters and plot of those scenes I found to be over the top just a bit much for me.

The Daniels have made an extremely original movie and you shouldn't go into the movie expecting Citizen Kane or The Godfather but rather a great comedy to watch with a group of friends. Swiss Army Man may have caused many walk outs when it was at the Sundance Film Festival back in Janurary but if you know what to expect it's a ball to watch.

Overall Score: 9/10

Swiss Army Man comes out on the 14th July (and I don't know how wide of a release the movie will get)