410 – Midsommar

Happy Halloween! Quickly following up his paradigm-shifting Hereditary, Ari Aster took to Sweden for Midsommar. The film stars Florence Pugh as a young woman who follows her boyfriend on a study trip in the wake of a major personal tragedy. As the running-on-fumes romance disintegrates, things get very weird and very sinister in the remote town in which they’re staying. Though the film earned him the vocal respect of the likes of Martin Scorsese, its Oscar chances were swiftly cut short.

This episode, we talk about the film’s morbid (and often quite funny) depiction of cult behavior and the backlash against Aster’s cinematic sensibilities. We also talk about Pugh’s Little Women performance in the same year, how the film doesn’t completely spell out what’s happening just offscreen, and the director’s cut that has gained popularity in the year’s since.

Topics also include Joe’s current spooky watching, 2019 Best Actress, and Midsommar‘s memeability.