When Dani’s sister both murders her parents and commits suicide after falling into a depressive low, she is struggles to maintain her relationship with her boyfriend, Christian. Her boyfriend was already distant, his friends encouraging him to end the relationship, but he was reluctant. When it’s revealed he is going to Sweden with friends to witness a midsommer traditional celebration, Dani is hurt, so Christian invites her along.
They arrive to beautiful and serene Swedish countryside, on a commune that Pelle – one of Christian’s friends – reveals is his traditional land, and all the people there – all dressed in white – are his family. Children are raised as a collaborative effort, and all tasks are divided among the people. It’s idyllic, and the people are seemingly happy and gracious to share their culture with the American students.
Much of the early festivities are peaceful and calm, and Dani, for the first time since her sister committed suicide, is calm. But then they witness a ritual in which two members of the commune commit suicide, as they are now seventy-two and that’s the end of their life cycle. It’s graphic, and Dani is horrified and wants to leave, but Christian points out that the they are probably mortified by the idea of nursing homes.
So she agrees to stay on, but is once again distressed when a young child offers himself to the Gods, and is almost thrown into the river with a rock on his belly (this is the director’s cut), but other members of the commune stop this at the last second.
One of the other ‘outsiders’ – a man from England – is then quite distressed and tries to run from the camp. He goes missing, and when his girlfriend confronts the Swedes, they tell her he’s gone to the station. There’s then a sinister pie cooking sequence in which it’s abundantly clear that they have not gone to the station.
Dani is still trying to convince Christian to leave, but he dismisses her concerns. He wants to do his research paper on this community, copying Josh, one of the other Americans. They get in an argument, and agree to do their research seperately. Josh then learns about the texts that the commune follows, which are dictated by the paintings of a child who is deliberately bred through incest. He is told not to photograph the books, but sneaks out and does it anyway.
Meanwhile, the other American – Mark – is invited by a girl he is attracted too, and follows her to a room. Neither are seen again.
That just leaves Dani and Christian, and they are soon separated. Dani is invited to join in on the dancing, whoever lasts the longest will be named the May Queen, while Christian is separated and asked if he will breed with one of the Swedish girls, but only to impregnate her. His answer is not shown but he looks troubled as he leaves.
During this time, Dani dances, and then is the last woman standing. She is crowned the May Queen, and realises that Christian cannot look her in the eye and appears ill.
The film enters what appears to be a fever dream, with Dani being celebrated and Christian seeming ill. As May Queen, Dani must bury the first seeds of the season, so she is taken away. As this happens, Christian is lead into a room where the Swedish girl he must have sex with is laid out, older naked woman standing around her. He starts to mate with her, and Dani comes back and sees. She breaks down.
She is later placed on a stage, surrounded by flowers. It is revealed that four of the visitors have been sacrificed, as well as four cult members. It is now up to the May Queen to pick who the ninth sacrifice is, and she can choose between the final visitor – Christian – and a random villager. She picks Christian.
He is then burned inside a bear skin, still conscious in sacrifice. Dani starts screaming, as do the rest of the commune members. She begins to smile.
Midsommar, makes for an interesting horror film. Being set in a place where it is almost always daylight – often overexposed – is wonderfully open and is full of flowers rather than knives, it defies some of the basic horror conventions. The openness of the landscape and happiness of the people do not detract from the foreboding feeling that something is wrong. The Swedes may be warm, relateable and open – wearing white, the colour of innosence – but there’s an uneasy feeling that exists on the commune, one which Dani picks up on multiple times.
Though, they are in an isolated environment.
Which is something that becomes essential. Not only for the sake of the plot, but also a direct reflection of the theme.
Because ultimately, Midsommar is about mental illness, and the sense of isolation it creates with those around. Dani’s sister had bipolar disorder, but it is also established that Dani suffers from (at the very least) a severe anxiety disorder. This is introduced somewhat clunkily, with Dani worrying to a friend (who we never meet again) that she is too much, intercut with and Christian’s friends telling him he should dump her. It is a quick and lazy way to deliver that information to the audience, as opposed to actually showing their deteriorating relationship.
Either way, Dani’s fear of being alone prompts her to join Christian and his friends on the Sweedish commune – something that will alter her life forever. The commune is serene, a beautiful place hidden away in the country side. It’s bright, covered with flowers, and over exposed – giving the impression that one is dreaming, reading a fairytale – bordering on absurd. And this is also a nod to mental illness. Even when the awful rituals are taking place – and they’re graphic, with a woman’s face being smashed in – the tones are warm, the image pristine – you can make out all the details and aren’t searching in the shadows. Even though what this cult is doing is horrible, you see it with crystal clear clarity.
Everything is becoming clear to Dani, who is seduced by the cult’s use of language – the way they are all together, they grieve together – thought Pelle may be an orphan, he’s also been adopted by everyone else, so he feels ‘held’. Because this is exactly what Christian and his friends have opted not to do, instead deciding she is too much effort and not worth the time.
And to me, this is where Midsommar stands apart. It doesn’t abuse a mentally ill character for he sake of plot, as so many other films have, but it looks at the overall picture – how the isolation and lack of understanding can drive a character to such a extreme action. And that includes both Terri’s actions at the start of the film – murder-suicide – and Dani’s actions at the end. Because even if Christian had his issues, he didn’t deserve to die.
But the most frightening thing about the film, is that there is no happy ending. Even though Dani is smiling, she has just murdered her boyfriend, and is destined to live out her years (which will end at seventy-two) in a cult who has no issue sacrificing people to their Gods. She’s not really dealt with anything, has just found another easy solution – much like her sister.
