Midsommar
Director Ari Aster crafted an incredibly specific repugnance film withMidsommar , pulling from ancient Swedish traditions and myth alike to metamorphose a gay village into a dark cult . It also explores the topic of grief from an interesting angle , centering Florence Pugh in a star - making role , which makes it a worthy follow - up to last year’sHereditary . Screen Rant talk about the subject of the movie and the weight of Dani ’s story with Aster and actor Jack Reynor , who plays her well - meaning but ultimately frustrating boyfriend Christian .
Congratulations onMidsommar , it was an amazing film . Ari , I was especially amazed by how you took Swedish pagan traditions and used them to tell the account of a toxic human relationship . What was it that inspired you to explore Swedish acculturation in the first place ?
Ari Aster : The fact that I was not so involved in it to get with made it necessary . I grew up eff Swedish film – Bergman and Bo Widerberg and Jan Troell . Beyond that , I sort of just dove in and found anything that was useful for the story , and anything that was n’t I kind of went elsewhere . It ’s a premix of research and innovation .
Jack , you and Florence did an awe-inspiring chore of portraying a lived - in relationship that ’s also falling asunder . You had moment of fragrance keep abreast by estrangement , and they both mat up really natural . How did you guys work together to make that synergy happen ?
Jack Reynor : Florence and I are really good friends , and there is a pot of warmheartedness between the two of us . So that ’s kind of exists behind the carrying into action onscreen , you get laid ? Which was great to have , obviously . I cerebrate if it had been somebody who I did n’t wish , I do n’t have it off if we would have been able to achieve that . But prior to chief picture taking , we spent the calendar week having really in - profoundness conversations about the characters and about the nature of a human relationship like this . And we did a small bit of improv and material as well , which was crystallise and illuminating for us . So we kind of brought that stuff to the tabular array .
Also , to watch Florence for two months nourish such a heavy [ office ] , to occupy such a ponderous genial space – I stand for , she put everything into it . To stick out there and to observe her playing a character that was hurt so bad , and to see her so put in it and really feeling it , was unmanageable . I think that for me to watch that allowed me to develop some more grain for my whole fictitious character . If it feels like there ’s authenticity in the performance , and that you’re able to feel as you say it ’s a live - in human relationship that ’s fall apart , it ’s largely due to that .
Wow . It also seems like there ’s an undercurrent of racialism or xenophobia in the story , in terms of how the fashion that Connie , Josh and Simon are care for is different from the elbow room that Dani and Christian are – even if the end solvent is one . So what was it you require to say with that ? Was that a conscious pick you made ?
Ari Aster : That was a very conscious pick , and I tried to sort of meander a lot of thing into the fringe of the film . I think it ’s there , and I ’m reluctant to be too explicit about it . But it is there , and I ’m glad you noticed that , and it ’s a very authoritative part of the film .
More : Interview with Will Poulter , William Jackson Harper and Vilhelm Blomgren
