“I think I love Swiss Army Man.”
One hour into the 97 minute film I reflect on what I’ve watched and send that text to my brother.
He responds: “It’s definitely unique.”
Yes it is.
Swiss Army Man is a buddy film about a man, Paul Dano, marooned on an island who finds a corpse, Daniel Radcliffe1. Given that premise, think about where a movie could take that. I guarantee that whatever you came up with is no where near what ended up on film.
The film had me in awe throughout the first hour. The story is insane. The visual style is cool. The music choice is a lot of fun. The chemistry between Dano and Radcliffe is a delight. It’s kind of beautiful.
With unique movies like Swiss Army Man the concern is will the filmmakers2 stick the landing? The movie does drag a little bit in the third act but the ending is satisfying.
The film is best summarized by a line that Mary Elizabeth Winstead gives at the end: “What the fuck?”
Rating: 8 / 10
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SPOILER ALERT: I love how they learn about more of the special powers that Daniel Radcliffe has like a water bottle, shooting projectiles out of the mouth, and the compass erection. He truly is like a Swiss Army knife: absolutely necessary when stranded in the wilderness. ↩
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This is the feature film debut of the duo known as Daniels, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. I knew of them from one of my favorite 2022 films: Everything Everywhere All at Once. Both films have a cool style. I’m a fan! ↩