'Midsommar' Director Clears Up Mystery Over Character's Fate
Just when we thought Midsommar couldn't disturb us anymore with its pagan rituals and that grisly ending, Ari Aster has now unveiled a new director's cut that stretches the original's 147-minute long running time to 171.
As modern fairytales go, few are bleaker than this, and in terms of the plot itself, Midsommar can be tough to get on board with too.
Starting off with a tragic murder-suicide, Aster's sophomore feature beats down on audiences like the unrelenting sunshine which scorches almost every frame. Answers don't come easy and that's a deliberate move on Aster's part, adding to the psychedelic, almost hypnotic tone which ensnares Dani (Florence Pugh) and her friends.
The extra 24 minutes added in the director's cut don't radically transform Midsommar or make its hardships any easier to swallow, but they do add further layers to its oppressive atmosphere while also clearing up a lingering mystery from the original version.
In the film's first cut, Connie (Ellora Torchia) and Simon (Archie Madekwe) freak out after two members of the Hårga community jump off a cliff and kill themselves in a bloody ritual.
The couple decide to leave but while Connie gathers her things, an elder reveals that Simon is already on his way to the train station, leaving her behind. Confused by her boyfriend's actions, Connie decides to leave on her own, but as people who have seen the film will already know, she never makes it to the station.
In the final scenes of Midsommar, the Hårga explain to Dani that nine human sacrifices are needed to purge the cult of evil. Along with Josh (William Jackson Harper), Mark (Will Poulter) and Simon (Archie Madekwe), audiences can also spot Connie among the offerings and she's wearing a strange type of chainmail that's never really explained… Until now.
Our first clue regarding Connie's fate is given early on when Christian (Jack Reynor) helps the Hårga decorate a tree with various pagan objects. The scene itself isn't particularly ominous, but this lays the groundwork for a far creepier sequence set later at night.
Wearing the same chainmail seen earlier on the tree, a young boy named Bror (Frans Rosengarten) is being prepared for a ritualistic drowning when the ceremony is suddenly stopped at the last possible moment. It seems that his bravery and willingness to participate is enough to satisfy the gods and the child is saved.
Cut forward to the final scene of the movie and Connie is also wearing that same chainmail.
While we still don't see her death in either version of the film, it soon becomes clear that Connie was drowned and sacrificed in Bror's place. Grisly for sure but still not as bad as the fate that befalls Christian at the end.
It must have been tempting for Aster to show Connie's demise on screen, but even with an extra 24 minutes added on, the director's cut still refuses to give us easy answers.
Whether you enjoyed Midsommar or not, Aster must be commended for his remarkable restraint here, even if that hefty running time might suggest he doesn't know the meaning of the word.
Given the chance to expand their vision, most directors might be tempted to reveal too much, but Aster still forces the audience to do some of the legwork ourselves, making us work even harder than the cult members who hollow out that bear 'costume'.
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