SWISS ARMY MAN (NETFLIX) (2016)

SYNOPSIS: A washed-up corpse with surprising abilities gives a hopeless man stranded in the wilderness someone to talk to- and a newfound reason to live. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

We promise you Swiss Army Man is going to be absurd and unconventional and despite the far-fetched scenario which featured frequent loud farts, a boner and a corpse coming to life, it’s also the most meaningful movie you will see in a long time.  

The movie opens with a man named Hank (Paul Dano) trying to hang himself on a deserted island. He looks disheveled and probably a castaway until a corpse (played by Daniel Radcliffe) washes up ashore and propelled Hank to a mainland shore not far from civilization using his farts. As Hank and his newfound corpse buddy, Manny tries to find a way out of the forest, the duo developed an unbelievable friendship full of props, hard truth and a heartfelt look at life.  

It sounds like a remake of Weekend at Bernie’s, slight reminisce of the recent Warm Bodies and from the trailer, it’s going to be a gross-out out toilet humour experience but apparently Swiss Army Man has lot more to offer than lowbrow comedy. Although admittedly, it does offer a generous dose of flatulence gags and a boner which acts as a compass and to add to the silliness, Manny is also conveniently a water dispenser as well.   

Out of the unbelievable friendship forged by the two, we learnt that Hank is a lonely soul desperate in need of friendship and love. He is secretly in love with a girl named Sarah (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) whom he meets daily on the bus, stalking her on social media but never actually has the guts to talk to her. On the contrary, Manny the reanimated corpse is the direct opposite of Hank in terms of his viewpoint on embracing love and his frank outlandish behavior. Is Manny actually the unexplored side of Hank? What if all the wild fantasies and interaction are borne out of Hank’s imagination? 

Swiss Army Man might not be this generation’s Cast Away and while it’s debatable whether the two directors have succeed in bringing their messages across, the performances of Dano and especially Radcliffe as a largely immobile corpse is already a winner. Another noteworthy contribution is the endearing folksy soundtrack by composers Andy Hull and Robert McDowell. Swiss Army Man is simply both whimsical and weird. 

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee