by Frank Calvillo
Absurdist comedies always contain the power to intrigue for a number of reasons. To begin with, it’s hard not to be taken with a film which creates its own reality and isn’t afraid to come off as silly in the process. The idea of spending time in a world where the impossible becomes commonplace and learned rules and customs don’t necessarily ring true is too enticing of a prospect to pass up. More than this, though, it seems that the more absurd a film gets, the more telling and poetic its comment on real life and human emotions can be.
Written and directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Swiss Army Man opens on a young man named Hank (Paul Dano) who has found himself shipwrecked on a deserted island. Unable to take his current situation any longer, Hank is about to hang himself when the corpse of another young man (Daniel Radcliffe) washes up on shore. When the corpse, whom Hank dubs Manny, comes to life and starts speaking, Hank finds himself with an ally who encourages him to get reacquainted with the life he left behind and helps him find his way home.
More than anything else, Swiss Army Man is an illustration of friendship and the deep understanding and love that can exist between friends, even if one happens to be a corpse. It’s the importance of a best friend and how it’s symbolized in the film which gives the story its soul. The most valuable part of Swiss Army Man in terms of its friendship element is showing how a true friend helps another friend to look at their own life, and the world in general, in ways they themselves cannot. The concept of friendship has been trivialized in films for decades now. While there have been some telling representations throughout the years, very few have been able to convey the level of love that exists between friends and how the bond which develops, almost imperceptibly, has the power to reach beyond any unusual circumstance. Swiss Army Man may well be remembered as the movie where Harry Potter played a dead guy, but it will also be regarded as one of the truest films ever to deal with friendship.
While not as upfront as its take on friendship, Swiss Army Man is certainly a moving comment on depression. In the character of Hank, we see a man who is so afraid to live the life he has found himself with, which includes an estranged father and an infatuation with a girl he’s only seen from afar, that he’s willing to end his life because of it. It’s hard to decipher how much of what happens to Hank (including Manny himself) is in his head or not, but it’s hard to deny that the film is stating that on some level, it’s easier to live with the delusions and the world we create around them than the ones we are faced with. True, some may say this hinders an individual’s growth, not to mention their mental health. Yet sometimes it’s the delusions that keep people going, giving them the fuel they need to charge ahead when they feel as if they’ve got nothing else as tools to exist.
Swiss Army Man is essentially a two-man show, and the filmmakers certainly found the right two men for the job. Both Dano and Radcliffe prove to be excellent scene partners for the other, with both actors feeding off of each other’s energies in brilliant and surprising ways. Dano hasn’t been this vulnerable in years, while Radcliffe totally loses himself in a role which is nothing like he’s ever been asked to play before. The two actors embody such deep humor and vulnerability throughout Swiss Army Man, that their turns will surely be heralded as one of the great film teamings for years to come.
It goes without saying that Swiss Army Man is an exercise in magical realism; that blend of storytelling where fantasy and reality meet and manage to coexist in the most surprising of ways. Films which deal in magical realism have not always proven to be everyone’s cup of movie tea, with some moviegoers left either angered or bewildered by an experience with the power to soar over their heads. I have a feeling this will be the case for Swiss Army Man when it comes to some people, especially since nothing is answered in terms of questions and so much logic is defied throughout it. But if people take the time to shake those questions away, they will find themselves with a truly enriching tale about the power of friendship and the embracing of life.
