Swiss Army Man

The premiere of Swiss Army Man saw multiple walk-outs, perhaps unsurprising given the film’s premise: a suicidal man meets a farting, reanimated corpse, whose arm can be used as a wood saw and whose erection guides their journey together. What’s perhaps more surprising is that the film is utterly brilliant, a stunning meditation on friendship and purpose which brings into question almost every stitch in the fabric of modern human existence. Yes, really.

The film stars Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Prisoners) as Hank, a man marooned on an island and on the brink of hanging himself when he meets the eponymous ‘Swiss Army Man’, later named Manny, played by Daniel Radcliffe (the Harry Potter series, The Woman in Black).

Written and directed by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan (‘Daniels’), the film can only be described as the oddest buddy-road-trip movie ever made, with the two characters on a journey to get back to civilisation. While at first Manny appears as a corpse with the bizarre power of having jet-propelling levels of flatulence, he slowly begins to achieve the ability to speak and move, develops pubescent sexual fantasies, and questions his surroundings. It is through Manny’s interrogation of modern-day society that we arrive at the film’s truest intentions.

The bizarre premise of Swiss Army Man, as well as its admittedly rather heavy reliance upon puerile body-humour has, and will continue to be alienating to some audience members; but there are few who will finish watching this film and feel ambivalent towards it. The potential for alienation comes from the specifics of the plot machinations, it’s willingness to toy with our perceptions of a successful narrative, and, arguably most importantly, our distinctly human obsession with having to make literal sense out of even that which is intended to be previously unexplored, undefinable territory.

This being their first feature film, having previously worked largely on short-form media, the Daniels appear to have been determined to make it their own. A true sense of artistic vision is present, a refreshing change of pace given the film industry’s current obsession with studio-intervention, franchise-fare and adapted material.

Dano excels as Hank but the real comedic and dramatic weight is given over to Radcliffe, in one of his most compelling performances to date. The nuance with which he makes Manny both sublimely irritating while at the same time utterly sympathetic is captivating and representative of the film as a whole. Even as we are repulsed by Swiss Army Man, we are blown away by its beautiful central relationship, by its constant willingness to focus on the minutiae as well as the universal, and by its visuals (the colour palette is a particularly striking blend of slightly over-saturated deep blues and greens). The film is both incredibly immature at times and one of the most philosophically aware, considered approaches to our perceptions of adulthood. Nothing is sugarcoated but neither is the tone bleak, as the prevalence of both literal and thematic death may suggest. Instead, Swiss Army Man is endlessly optimistic without being naive; it is skeptical of even the conclusions it draws upon itself.

So my plea to you is this: don’t write off Swiss Army Man as ‘the Daniel Radcliffe farting corpse movie’. It is indeed that, but it is also so much more. It may not be to everyone’s tastes but those willing to explore the true depths of the journey Daniels are willing to take us on will be rewarded with a visceral, emotionally intelligent experience unlike any other ever put to film.

Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Country: USA

Running Time: 97 minutes