Search - Men [DVD] on DVD

B.J. W. (analogkid01) from CHICAGO, IL
Reviewed on 7/5/2025...

Writer/director Alex Garland has had one impressive career. His films include 28 Days Later and Sunshine (both directed by Danny Boyle), Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Civil War (all written and directed by Garland himself). His films are cerebral, to say the least, and for the most part pretty darn good.

"Men," Garland's 2022 effort, is probably his weakest. In it, a young woman named Harper (well-portrayed by Irish actress Jessie Buckley) retreats to a Scottish estate following the suicide of her emotionally and physically abusive husband. Once there, she encounters a series of men, including:

- the groundskeeper
- a naked man who mutilates himself
- a man with the mind of a child
- a vicar, and
- a police officer

The only other woman in the film is her friend Riley, with whom she mostly communicates via cell phone.

It becomes clear fairly quickly that these men are figments of her imagination, most likely representing different aspects of her fragmented psyche as she processes the loss of her husband (with whom things were not going well, leading to threats of divorce and his untimely end). As such the film is drenched in imagery and symbolism, much like Denis Villeneuve's "Enemy," with a similar insistence on multiple viewings.

The final sequence of the film, a shocking sequence of pure body horror, is actually the most interesting part of the movie. But does it mean that every person Harper has interacted with in the film has been imaginary? Including the police and the bartender? These are questions left for the viewer to ponder.

It's not a bad movie, but the first hour of its 100-minute run time could've been made more interesting and less indulgent.

Grade: C+