Watching Swiss Army Man feels like watching a high-wire stunt performed by two clowns while juggling bowling pins and rubber chickens. Not only does this act look absurd and devoid of conventional, but looks dangerous. A bizarre mixture of Cast Away and a Looney Tunes episode couldn’t not stumble by the weight of its own ambition, either by being too obnoxious or too sappy. At any minute, this films could fall apart completely, and watching it succeed gracefully had me cheering after it’s over. And while I’m aware that calling movies stunt shows proves little more than banal and gratuitous bullcrap straight out of any pseudo-prestigious factory, the films real secret to greatness is how much it gets away with hidden meanings and poignant themes. That along with the gonzo lunacy of the films mechanics easily makes Swiss Army Man one of the boldest and the most meaningful movie of the year.
And yes, we’re still talking about the movie where Harry Potter plays a dead corpse farting across the ocean like a jet ski.
The story centers around Paul Dano as Hank, a depressed shell of a man who, after being shunned by society, is now stranded on a deserted island and attempts suicide. He then stumbles across dead body (Daniel Radcliffe) that somehow has super powered farts and decides to ride him across the ocean. Once they make it to another island, Hank befriends this corpse (named Manny) and realizes that the more he comes to realize every aspect of life – like making friends, being weird, masturbating (really.), and asking girls out – the more the corpse can perform an array of bodily functions; ones that range to basic like speaking, and other on the weird spectrum like vomiting fresh water out of your mouth and shooting bullets from your mouth. Realizing the potential of this mechanic, Hank grows accustomed to Hank so that he could have enough superpowers to get him home.
Now there is LOADS of things to cover on how ridiculous this sounds, but the way the film straight up goes with it is part of the charm. No matter how silly it gets with Hank using Manny as either a karate-chopping wood cutter or a pebble-shooting gun, the movie finds a lot of moments of introspection and emotion at the piece. We see both of these broken people both coping and ultimately aiding each other with their issues (Hank being a depressed dweeb with his whole life kicking him around and Manny being, well… dead) and finding ways to either work around their issues or embrace them to their advantage. It all culminates to of the films beautiful revelations, that everyone is either broken and weird and all we can do is either face, or live up to, these ailments, all while not having to drench itself with too much twee sensibilities to pull it off.
Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe are both amazing in their roles. Their chemistry feels real, not just considering their more “passionate” physical acting (though those shouldn’t be passed up either) but by sheer matter-of-fact friendship, as they both come to terms with both of their uncanny status. While it’s easy to pull out the “Nobody Does a Dweeb Better Than Dano” card, the real treat is watching him create this shallow, creepy character into something palpable. I’ve been watching this guy perform for years, and this is easily the best role he ever agreed on. Radcliffe, on the other hand, is nothing short of revelatory, instantly making a dead guy feel so full of life. From his head dangling on one side in every scene while he tries to form words with his barely-functioning mouth to the way he executes deadpan humor flawlessly, this proves that Radcliffe’s indie career trajectory after the Harry Potter movies finally pays off.
But it’s even more than that still, believe it or not. While merely any average Joe walking into this movie can enjoy the many nonsensical scenarios with human appendages straight out of the “Turn Down for What” music video playbook – which is what, coincidentally, is the directors of this movie was responsible – the more outside-the-box audience can think of many of the films subtexts and get a kick out of that too. It could be how a child comes to grips with the strange world we call Earth. It could be about how a man tries to explain what life really is about while also understanding the details that he didn’t realize. It could be about how two worlds of grounded cynicism and absurd optimism coalesce as one. It could be about how we accept our oddities in a world full of dreary conformity.
Heck, that last part could metaphorically be one of the main reasons why I love this movie so much. In the recent summer deluge of uninspired sequels, dull remakes, and manipulating adaptations, here’s Swiss Army Man coming straight out of the Film Festival scene walking in the rain with a bright raincoat and a clown face, begging for the world to get over their baggage and greet the unique creation with open arms. That is pretty much Swiss Army Man in a nutshell: a unique creation with everything opposing the predictable. Silly yet earnest, smart yet playful, meaningful yet consistently so, bold yet simple. Whether or not you believe me when I say this, but notwithstanding this gonzo mechanics, this is perfect in the way it wants to be. Definitely worth a watch.
Rating: 10/10
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