When you’re at the end of your rope, where do you turn – towards an early ending or towards a floating, farting corpse? For Swiss Army Man this is only the most basic question the film asks of Hank Thompson, a distressed young man played by Paul Dano who is lost as metaphorically as he is literally. Thankfully for Hank his new friend Manny, the corpse played by Daniel Radcliffe, provides comfort and support in a myriad of ways, as Hank struggles to find his way home and himself.
Originally upon seeing the trailer for this film, I was uncertain of the premise and the hype around the ‘farting corpse film’. I’d even begun the film once a couple years after its release only to stop about 10 minutes in when a friend I was with suggested we give up on it. Only after my love of Everything Everywhere All At Once, helmed by the Daniels who also directed this film, did I allow myself a re-watch and full evaluation.
Not only was this revisiting stemmed by the goodwill I had towards the Daniels, but also the realization that even with Everything Everywhere All At Once, easily a top tier film for me if not my favorite film in 2022, that it was only upon the second watch that I came to fully appreciate the film. I had originally lost the importance of the themes of family, and love, thanks to the incredible amounts of absurdity (by now you surely have heard of butt plug fights and Raccacoonie). Though the cruder humor still wasn’t to my taste on a second watch, I realized that it wasn’t an impediment to the story as I’d initially thought, and therefore I was able to fully appreciate all the Daniels had magnificently achieved.
Swiss Army Man leans even more into the absurdity, as is evident from the jump. However this time, thanks to a nugget co-director Daniel Kwan had shared in a recent interview about the Daniels style, I realized this film was teaching me how to watch the movie, and once I got in line with the absurdity I had a wonderful time with this film.
Dano and Radcliffe’s performances were both a delight, as their commitment to the roles was clear. Truly without their buy-in the film would not have worked. Likewise the script really rounded out the characters and provided a lot of heart, even if the message of self-discovery and self-evaluation was perhaps unveiled too early, and though effective felt a bit overly done by the end.
Likewise the final third, and more specifically final 10 or so minutes, did not quite stick the landing. I felt I was left with more unintended questions than answers, and though there were significant portions that were supposed to be payoff for earlier development, I did not ultimately find the all payoffs fully satisfying.
Still this film hit me in a way I did not expect, and ultimately I enjoyed and appreciated the film. If you loved the wacky nature of Everything Everywhere All At Once I’d highly recommend this film, as you can certainly see the Daniels talents blossoming. After now two incredibly imaginative films back to back, my only thought now is what will they do next? I cannot wait to see.
