Swiss Army Man is definitely polarizing. I saw it in a theater of about 18 people, and by the time the movie was over, only five were left, including myself. And while the 12 or so who walked out were clearly disgusted, the ones who remained had obviously enjoyed the experience tremendously.
As for myself, I'm still quite unsure of how I feel about the film. It was extremely original, with a premise that starts out as slow and a bit boring, and then out of nowhere turns to into one big sex joke. By the time we learned of Daniel Radcliffe's magical boner, most of the audience was already gone and I had also begun to feel very unsure. However, once the movie expanded upon its themes and we start realizing what exactly is going on with Paul Dano's character (or so we think), the story becomes very touching and makes you reevaluate life and all the reasons whether or not to live. Of course, the ending does a complete 180 on what you think you know and ends up confusing the viewer once again. I'm sure this was intentional, but it feels a little forced and ambiguous in an unsatisfying way.
Nevertheless, the performances were fantastic. I've seen Daniel in quite a bit besides Harry Potter, and he truly shines as the "corpse" and makes the character quite sweet. Paul Dano has proved himself as one of the greatest young character actors of this generation and does not disappoint. The cinematography is also breathtaking in its simplicity. The film also did provide for quite a few laughs if you can get past the juvenile, Sandler-esque humor of it all. It is definitely one to see if you're looking for a film to make you think about life, solitude, and what love truly is, even if it does slightly miss the mark in packing a big emotional punch.
As for myself, I'm still quite unsure of how I feel about the film. It was extremely original, with a premise that starts out as slow and a bit boring, and then out of nowhere turns to into one big sex joke. By the time we learned of Daniel Radcliffe's magical boner, most of the audience was already gone and I had also begun to feel very unsure. However, once the movie expanded upon its themes and we start realizing what exactly is going on with Paul Dano's character (or so we think), the story becomes very touching and makes you reevaluate life and all the reasons whether or not to live. Of course, the ending does a complete 180 on what you think you know and ends up confusing the viewer once again. I'm sure this was intentional, but it feels a little forced and ambiguous in an unsatisfying way.
Nevertheless, the performances were fantastic. I've seen Daniel in quite a bit besides Harry Potter, and he truly shines as the "corpse" and makes the character quite sweet. Paul Dano has proved himself as one of the greatest young character actors of this generation and does not disappoint. The cinematography is also breathtaking in its simplicity. The film also did provide for quite a few laughs if you can get past the juvenile, Sandler-esque humor of it all. It is definitely one to see if you're looking for a film to make you think about life, solitude, and what love truly is, even if it does slightly miss the mark in packing a big emotional punch.