Swiss Army Man

We all see the plethora of commercial films, especially given the time of year we're in, so when I saw my first trailer on "Swiss Army Man", I felt I needed to see it considering it is an independent film that is incredibly absurd. Even though this film is very well made, why does Hollywood either give us obscure but original or normal but plain and banal? Why can't there be an in between film somewhere in the middle?

Outrageously quirky, fun, dramatic and deeply affecting, this story is a gonzo buddy comedy/drama about a man named Hank (Paul Dano) who is stranded on a deserted island, having given up all hope of ever making it home again is ready to hang himself. But, all of a sudden, everything changes when he sees a male corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) washed up on the beach. Apparently the man is named Manny and Hank ends up befriending  Manny only to discover that his new friend can talk and has a myriad of supernatural abilities... which may help Hank get home. So as Hank makes one last ditch effort to get off the island, will they reach civilization and if and/or when they do, will all change between the two of them?

Others to round out the cast are Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Sarah, Antonia Ribero as Chrissy, Timothy Eulich as Preston, Richard Gross as Hank's Dad, Marika Casteel as Reporter, Andy Hull as Cameraman, Aaron Marshall as Officer #1 and Shane Carruth as Coroner.

This was quirkily and bizarrely directed and written by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert also known as DANIELS (shorts and videos). Truly, the emotions that these directors were able to get Dano and Radcliffe to emit was amazingly effective-- Dano tittering between reality and fantasy and Radcliffe resembling a corpse, but with enough life in him to give the audience that sense of: is he dead or alive? Considering this is the directorial debut of these filmmakers, their efforts shined. Of course when you get these two fine actors together, especially exuding a great chemistry, the magic then happens, especially considering approximately 98% of the film housed these two actors only. These filmmaker's script, however obscure and outlandish, was effective and compelling. What makes this story so effective is the way these writers created such a lonliness in the character of Hank, that with his loneliness, he created a persona of this corpse in his mind to survive. However, the way this is written, there are moments where the audience is pitted with the question of whether Manny was actually alive also. This script was cohesive, tight, screaming with depth. Even though the film definitely put the 'W' in weird, and the ending kind of cut its audience short, this was still a film that was both well acted and executed.

This film was definitely not made for mass audience appeal, but even with this in tow, the target audience this is catered to will hopefully see more with this than meets the eye. The fragility of Hank had to create a world that he could survive in so he could make it until he was rescued. And don't we all, at times, do the same thing to help us get through an otherwise difficult situation?

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                Rated: R                                 98mins.