Review of Ari Aster
Hereditary: 2 stars, Midsommar Director's Cut: 1 star, Beau is Afraid: 0 stars
I'm not sure I loved Ari Aster’s Hereditary (2018) because it's good or because it defied my expectations so many times. I enjoy these sorts of amoral slave-to-the-plot-twist type entertainments - Gone Girl springs to mind. It's an evolution from Hitchcock missionary position to full-on BDSM orgies, a way to satisfy our jaded senses with shock and surprise. Hitchcock, Ari Aster, Gillian Flynn, and writers like Elmore Leonard wear absence of meaning as a badge of honor - all of them reactionaries against a system which itself is a reaction against Romantic, heroic art.
It becomes tiresome to write the same Oscar-worthy piece about the struggles of the proletariat, or the depredations of the bourgeoisie, over and over and over. The mind ceases to function. One pumps out drek like 2023's Barbie (0 stars), a creative writing 201 fever dream of an imagined patriarchy, even as one lavishes in unearned critical acclaim and 8-figure paychecks for another insipid piece of pop-deconstructionism. The thought of rehashing other requisite variations, like James Cameron's eternal casting of Earth as the Good Proles suffering under an irredeemable human yoke, are enough to inspire the budding Hollywood aspirant to give up writing for the mass murder of some MAGAts, or at least fantasize about such in their screenplay for The Kingsman.
The creep of Marxism/nihilism has been so thorough that there is no alternative available to intellectual types. Heroism has been obsoleted by ideological science, and there are no positive messages, nothing to celebrate or feel good about, self-worth gauged by self-loathing, and anyone who says different is an idiot who your teachers have spared you the burden of learning from, trust them, and do not expose yourself to dangerous ideas.
Conservatives respond to the academic onslaught by revolting against intellectualism itself, trying and failing not to absorb a messaging which pervades every facet of art and entertainment, screaming I CAN'T HEAR YOU while watching reruns of Rawhide on the Hallmark channel, ceding the realm of the mind entirely to the left.
In Hereditary, Ari Aster revolts against his college brainwashing the way so many writers do: by hiding out in a genre. But unlike so many women holed up writing romance novels, or men bent to sword and sorcery, Aster chooses horror, a genre often resorted to by those without the intellectual heft of a Greta Gerwig, yet still programmed to regurgitate messages of the arrogance of Man with all his "technology" and stuff.
No Gerwig, he, but neither is Ari Aster content to be a B-teamer remaking Frankenstein for the thousandth time. Oh, he toys with themes but they are as quickly discarded in favor of a grand concept: a conspiracy in which everyone is an unwitting victim, none of them will understand it even as it kills them, and, aside from a few words late in the second act, none of it will be explained to the viewer either. Yes, one needs a secret decoder ring to grok the gears which turn Hereditary, but it's better we don't fully understand - only that we are shocked by our own vast ignorance in the face of earth-shaking events.
Aster has lofty sights set on Rosemary's Baby, except in his version, it’s not just Rosemary but EVERY character who are unwitting conspiracy victims, ill-equipped to comprehend the palpable, orchestrated doom that will consume them. At the same time, we sullen receptacles bearing witness find ourselves victim to Ari Aster’s conspiracy against exposition itself, wondering what sort of garbage this will turn out to be once we understand what’s happening.
Not doom for us, in the end, but legitimate and well-earned shock. Like Frank Herbert’s 10,000 year-old God-Emperor of Dune, we shake at the so-rare unexpectedness of Hereditary’s climax, confused by these odd convulsions … laughter, is it? … rising up in spite of what a downer the whole production, and every other movie we saw this past year, have been.
Thus I welcome Hereditary into the rarefied company of great 2-star films like Rosemary’s Baby.
This was to be a review of Aster, as there is little one can say about Hereditary without spoiling it, so I wasn’t expecting to blow my wad on the above. Unlike Hereditary, there is little I want to say about Aster’s most recent outing Beau is Afraid, which may be loaded with all sorts of cutting edge nihilist messaging, only buried in a schizophrenic fever dream, rather than a clever plot. Perhaps the rebellion of Hereditary was only a phase, not the start of a long Hitchcockian career of sneering at the intellectuals through entertainment. At any rate, 0 stars is generous for Beau is Afraid. Spoiler alert: the villain is an enormous penis. Yes, an enormous penis:
Aster’s second film, Midsommar (2019), is a variation on a familiar theme: coddled modernity vs. raw nature. A gaggle of obnoxious college kids immerse themselves in a Scandinavian village untouched by the ravages of civilization. They battle over who will sum the village’s quaint customs into an undergraduate thesis, vaping in the faces of natives who tolerate their presence only as fresh meat to sacrifice for the big cultural event. Ugly Americans, we giggle at their ultimate demise, even as we are dared to admire a strange pre-industrial cult of human sacrifice ruled by retarded incest babies. America comes out on top, I think.
Lest you think Midsommar unwatchable depravity, I should mention that Aster wraps the horror neatly into a break-up tale with compelling characters, even if they are ugly Americans. This wrapper was somewhat unraveled by Aster’s Hollywood masters, who trimmed vital character development from the theatrical release, rendering the climax confusing and stripping any vestige of humanity from the film, for the sake of keeping it 2 hours long. One must locate Aster’s Director’s Cut to see Midsommar as intended, and it is this version which I award one star, along with my hearty recommendation - even though it’s only available in a lowly 2k transfer.
A robotic summation of the above, for your NPC friends:
Defied Expectations: Media that subvert audience expectations provide a unique thrill. This sensation stems from a narrative zigging where one anticipates a zag. The unpredictability in storytelling is like a drug to a society desensitized by formulaic plots.
Evolution of Storytelling: Storytelling has transformed from Hitchcock's more reserved suspense to a bolder, in-your-face kind of thrill. This reflects a broader societal shift towards seeking extreme stimuli, mirroring the change from conventional to radical in our collective consciousness.
Meaning in Art: Today's authors often shun embedding profound truths within their narratives. This absence is a silent protest against the grand narratives of old, signaling a shift from the idealistic to the pragmatically chaotic.
Repetitive Themes: The critic expresses fatigue over the repetitive cinematic exploration of class conflict. The overuse of such themes dulls the audience's senses and undermines the potency of the message.
Cultural Nihilism: The critic sees the prevalence of Marxist and nihilist themes as a symptom of cultural decay. This ideological hegemony has smothered the flames of heroism and optimism within the arts.
Conservative Backlash: In a struggle against the liberal dominance in culture, conservatives have retreated from the intellectual battlefield, according to the reviewer. This retreat is seen as a form of surrender, ceding the cultural narrative to the opposition.
Genre as Refuge: Aster’s foray into horror is interpreted as a sanctuary from the constraints of his educational indoctrination. Horror serves as a canvas for rebellion against these intellectual shackles.
Intellectual Pretense in Horror: Aster is commended for not capitulating to the elitist intellectualism that some argue plagues the film industry. His work is viewed as unpretentious within a genre that is accessible to the masses.
Aster's Technique: The mystique in "Hereditary" is maintained by withholding explanations, creating a narrative that entraps characters and viewers alike in a web of confusion and conspiracy.
Unexpectedness in Film: "Hereditary" is hailed for delivering a genuine shock, a rare feat in an era where audiences are often steps ahead of the plot, rendering most cinematic climaxes foreseeable.
Aster's Other Works: The brief commentary on "Beau is Afraid" signals disappointment, contrasting sharply with the intrigue found in "Hereditary." Meanwhile, "Midsommar" is reassessed favorably in its director's cut, underscoring the importance of character development for narrative coherence.