HCA Gradebook: “Men”

Film: Men
Plot: A young woman goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside following the death of her ex-husband.
Cast: Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear
Director: Alex Garland
Release Date: May 20, 2022
Studio: A24
HCA Overall Grade: C

Rachel Wagner says, “There will be people who will claim this is brilliant but I don’t see anything great about what it was trying to say or do. Why not have one sympathetic man so Harper is confused and doesn’t know who to trust? This would be scary and provide a more layered view of how toxic masculinity and abuse happen. Instead, we get this pretentious “horror” film that fails in nearly every respect.”

Grade: F

Shannon McGrew says, “Men is a visual feast of nightmarish imagery that’ll for sure get people talking. Whether you love it or hate it, one thing is for sure – you’ll never look at the evolution of men the same again.”

Grade: A

Josie Melendez says, “This film works as an interesting introspective piece. It’s very typical of Garland’s limited yet artistic and technical work. The first act is simple and mundane. The second act builds up to the madness leading up to a third act that is quite bonkers yet true in Garland fashion. While the narrative itself in terms of structure may confuse some, the message is quite clear. I’m still yearning for concrete answers we weren’t given, but the relief on Harper’s (Jessie Buckley) face is enough to ease me.”

Grade: B-

Zachary Pope says, “Alex Garland’s Men is an immersive, disturbing, eerie, and incredibly off-putting film that will disturb you all the way up till its jaw-dropping finale. It’s vividly layered from its writing to its direction. I’m shocked.”

Grade: A

Mark Johnson says, “Men is a spellbinding chiller, brimming with visceral terror and suspense. It reveals itself slowly and requires time to process and analyze what unfolds before us. Jessie Buckley gives a strong, fiercely compelling presence, while Rory Kinnear is deliciously unsettling and prickly. There is a lot here, thematically, but it never feels outsized.”

Grade: B+

Ema Sasic says, “I appreciate what Alex Garland is doing in this film thematically and visually — the cinematography is stunning — but it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. Jessie Buckley is captivating and Rory Kinnear is a frightening delight in all his many forms, but the story itself feels colder than anything else. “

Grade: C

Scott Menzel says, “Alex Garland’s Men is a massive misfire. While Jessie Buckley attempts to make lemonade with bad lemons, the script doesn’t give her anything to do. She walks around aimlessly and makes decisions that just don’t make much sense whatsoever. The film’s final 15 minutes go so off-the-rails that you can’t help but walk out of this film feeling aggravated and insulted by it. Men wants to be this brave and bold film about toxic masculinity but isn’t. One of the worst films I’ve seen in 2022 this far.”

Grade: F

Aaron Neuwirth says, “Describing Alex Garland’s Men as tense and disturbing feels about right. It has other things going on, namely the manifestation of what it can be like for women dealing with a revolving door of toxic masculinity. Still, as a horror film, it’s effective. Does it do enough to keep my mind racing with thoughts? Well, that’s a more complicated thing to consider.”

Grade: B-

Men is now playing exclusively in theaters