It's one of those pictures that defies most description. That might be the very reason I liked it so much; genre classifications can so easily limit film, as well as the audience's reaction to it. Consider, if you will, Crimson Peak, which, while thoroughly a horror film, is hardly "scary". Fellow moviegoers in the theater where I saw that Gothic romance muttered as they exited their disappointment in lackluster scares. But that film wasn't made to frighten. Disturb and enchant, sure, but not terrify.
Similarly, this one can hardly be described as more than a comedy, or at most an exercise in absurdist humor. It's a sort of macabre coming-of-age myth -- more conceptual than concrete in details -- wherein our protagonist Hank finds himself alone and suicidal on a small deserted island. A corpse washes up on the shore and our hero begins a surreal friendship with it. Before long, the corpse manifests its supernatural abilities, including propelling flatulence, karate choppers, a penile compass, and an oral water fount. With the makeshift Swiss Army knife's aid, Hank finds his way both literally and metaphorically, and, at the culmination of their adventures, the corpse departs.
If that sounds weird enough, you don't know the half of it. Between bear attacks and crossdressing, fake porn and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and a whole lot of not-so-mildly queer romance, this film is packed with indie, highbrow arthouse tragedy tropes as well as slapstick, lowbrow body humor gags. In many ways, this is pop art as high art (or maybe vice versa), and having Daniel Radcliffe as the corpse is just brilliant. His performance blew me out of the water, and the filmmakers' use of him is little short of genius; paired with an exaggeratedly eccentric performance from Paul Dano, the film works wonders. The two square off in a dazzling display of expert comedic timing parried instantly with profound loss and fear.
Most of all, this film is about wonder and curiosity. Just as Radcliffe's corpse (named Manny, of course) seeks enlightenment and reclamation, we the audience feel a need to help our friends in the film connect and rejoin civilization. Their make-believe role-playing is at once sumptuous and creative, but pitiful and broken. It doesn't take long for us to realize that the key Manny seeks -- real human interaction -- is what brought him to life in the first place, and what is sustaining him through Hank's friendship. We begin to wonder if poor dead Manny is doing the same for his friend.
It's a screwy oddball comedy, one that defies accurate description. So just do yourself a favor and go watch. If nothing else, it's a bizarre and silly adventure to distract from a hot summer day, and by the time it ends all us misfits and weirdos can sit back and consider our own journeys, with or without explosive flatulence.
IMDb: Swiss Army Man
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