What would you do if you found a farting corpse that has an erection that works like a compass? Yes, you read that right, a farting corpse with a compass erection. In the movie Swiss Army Man that is what Paul Dano finds while stranded on a beach.
Swiss Army Man stars Paul Dano, as Hank and Daniel Radcliffe as Manny. Hank is stranded on an island and about to commit suicide. Right when he is about to hang himself, he sees a corpse lying on the beach. When Hank approaches the corpse, it starts to fart. Hank decides to use the farting corpse has a jet ski, yes that's how powerful the farts are, and rides it to the mainland. Unfortunately Hank is now lost in a forest and must use the corpse, who's named Manny, to reach civilization. Manny soon starts to talk to Hank. At first Hank is frightened, but soon enjoys having someone to talk to. Along the way, Hank teaches Manny about life and with the assistance of Manny, Hank learns more about himself.
Just be reading the first line of this review, you know this movie is probably going to be insane, and boy is it. Visually Swiss Army Man was fantastic. Most of the movie revolves around Hank explaining to Manny what it means to be alive. To do this, Hank uses garbage that is found throughout the forest to create objects that resemble items most people use on a daily basis. For instance, Hank is describing what it's like to ride on a bus. Hank recreates a bus using branches and takes magazine ads and arranges them on a device that he spins to make it look like the scenery moving past a bus window. He also takes pencil eraser tops and makes them into headphones. It was these little subtle details that would bring smiles to my face.
Another thing I really enjoyed was just how multi-purpose Manny's body was for Hank. Manny would spit out drinkable water for Hank to drink. And when I say spit, it wasn't just little drops of spit, it was a fire hose of water coming out of Manny's mouth. Manny's farts weren't just used to move along the way, they could be used to start fires so Hank could cook and keep warm. Manny's erection was used like a compass that allowed Hank to find his way out of the forest. His body could be used as a tool to chop down trees and fire rocks at creatures so Hank could have food to eat. All these new discoveries were a joy to learn about and discover and you couldn't help but laugh every time Hank learned a new way to use one of Manny's special abilities.
The performances by Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe are fantastic. For most of the film Radcliffe is just lying or sitting there, staring off into space. But just watching him do that, without blinking and occasionally saying a few words, was mesmerizing. It was also a blast to watch the way he would react when Paul Dano's character would teach him something new. In Swiss Army Man, Paul Dano once again proves he is one of the best actors around. He was stellar as Hank. Watching him be confused by what was going on with Manny was a joy to experience. I had a smile on my face pretty much the entire time because of the chemistry between Dano and Radcliffe.
The only negative thing I can think of when it came to Swiss Army Man is that I was never emotionally gut-punched. I feel like that is a negative thing I bring up for a lot of movies I see, but I really enjoy when a movie hits me and brings me to the verge of tears. With Swiss Army Man, I never felt that and for the most part I'm okay with that. It didn't really take away from the experience. It is just a minor gripe.
Overall I absolutely loved Swiss Army Man. It is a completely original experience that is a blast to watch. I was laughing throughout the movie and in awe of all the things Hank would do to Manny. Visually the movie is fantastic and creative in every way possible. The performances by Dano and Radcliffe were spectacular. Swiss Army Man is a movie that needs to be seen. It is completely insane and a joy to experience. Please go see Swiss Army Man, you will never see anything like it.
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