Swiss Army Man: What the Heck
Just last week, my film class watched probably what I'd consider to be the most bizarre film I've ever seen: Swiss Army Man (2016). Now I probably should not have been caught off guard that much, because the film was directed by The Daniels, the same duo who'd later go on to dominate the 2023 Academy Awards with their equally bizarre and mind-boggling film, Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). To this day, I still can't comprehend that film, and ever since last week after watching Swiss Army Man, I still can't comprehend what to take from that film. But, similar to Everything Everywhere, I think I was able to take away some parts of the film and put meaning into them. So really, this blog post is just me trying to make sense of the film by talking through my thought process. Enjoy.
Did Everything Actually Happen?
The film starts off with Hank Thompson, played by Paul Dano, on the verge of ending his life after struggling to survive on a remote island by himself. Just as he is about to hang himself, he spots a dead corpse washed up on shore. From then on, Hank discovers how resourceful and vital the corpse is to his survival from fire starting, running supply of water, penial direction for navigation, shaving, fart-powered jet ski riding, and so much more. While figuring out a way to get back home, Hank and the corpse, who later becomes known as Manny, get to know one another and teach each other surprisingly important aspects of life.
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| Swiss Army Man: Rotten Tomatoes |
The first thing I really need to talk through is whether or not everything that happened in the film actually happened in the film's universe or not. This topic already is so hard to talk about, because the main premise is that usually a film's universe dictates what's real and what's possible. For example, in a superhero film like literally any installment of the Spiderman franchise, no one questions Peter Parker's ability to shoot spiderwebs and swing from them throughout the city. Similarly, in a real-world setting like literally any of the Taken films, yes, Liam Neeson's character can probably do anything, but you wouldn't expect him to pull special powers of teleportation or telekinesis in order to do so. In both of those cinematic settings, expectations regarding the limitations on their universe are built and expected to be maintained throughout the film(s).
The difficult thing about this film for me is that I can't really tell what the limitations are. The film opens with Hank about to hang himself after being stranded on an island and on the verge of death. The next thing you know, a dead corpse washed up on shore and a few minutes later Hank starts riding him like a jet ski powered by Manny's built up farts. Right then and there, I assumed that "Yea, this guy is delusional and probably hallucinating from lack of food." So already within the opening of the film, I was honestly expecting to have an unserious comedy of a guy on the brink of death, spending his last precious moments of life talking with a figment of his imagination.
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| Swiss Army Man (2016) |
But towards the end of the film, Hank and Manny actually end up making it back to Hank's town. At this point, I completely thought Manny was going to disappear and it would be revealed that Manny was something Hank made up to motivate him to survive. Boy, was I proven wrong.
The two guys end up in someone's backyard and come face-to-face with a little girl. Manny is actually the one who introduces both him and Hank to her, and indeed, the girl does see him. The girl's mother then comes out and is rightfully terrified at the sight of a stranger and a talking zombie in her yard. The mother of the little girl is actually Sarah, a woman who Hank saw on a bus ride and could not stop thinking about since. Throughout their journey trying to get back home, Hank and Manny both fell in love with Sarah and used her as motivation to get back home in hopes that when they return, they'll be able to talk to her. When Manny actually leads the way to Sarah's house, Hank refuses to talk to Sarah even though it's one of the biggest reasons for getting back home in the first place. They both get in a brawl about whether or not to go up to Sarah and talk to her.
Here, I expected a flat out beating or a "This can't be possible!" moment from the mom. But of course, this movie keeps surprising me at every point, and the mom doesn't do that. Instead, she has sympathy for the hardships the guys went through and calls the police to help them.
Unfortunately, as Hank is celebrating their successful trip back to land and the call of rescue, Manny can't deal with the way the little girl and her mom looked at her. Ultimately, he decides that he'd rather go back to being a corpse than being amongst the living.
When the police come, there are also medical teams and reporters who check in on Hank and Manny. While Hank is getting checked by the paramedics, the coroners and police place the stiff Manny in a body bag, dismissing him as "a son of a b*tch" no one cared about.
So at this point of the film, I have been proven completely wrong with my assumption that Manny is one of Hank's hallucination. Manny is indeed a real, walking, talking and farting corpse, and this part of the film confirmed that. I literally was having such an internal crisis about what to believe because this whole time, I thought that Manny was way too fantastical and wild to be real in the film's universe.
Believe it or not, we have to accept that Manny's real. Now, what does this mean? What can be taken from having these bizarre events be what actually happened?
What Does Everything Mean?
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| Swiss Army Man (2016) |
Manny sheds his insight that no matter what anyone thinks, we don't need to satisfy or seem appealing to everyone, only one person who will accept all of our flaws. But funny enough, although the audience might think this speech is intended towards Sarah, I think it is implicitly intended for the relationship between Hank and Manny.
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| Swiss Army Man (2016) |
Many people think that love and acceptance needs to come from a lover in order for humans to feel fulfilled. But one of the things I appreciate about this film is that it secretly draws attention to platonic friendship and soulmates. Not going to lie, Hank and Manny may be borderline lovers which some critiques of the film suggest. When we get to the closing of the film, we see Hank start to desperately fight for Manny's corpse as he body snatches him from the coroners. At this point, we see Hank's regret at taking Manny for granted. Throughout the past several weeks, Manny has given Hank more company and excitement to life than he has had in a very long time. Juxtaposing the beginning of the film where Hank got a second chance after literally being on the brink of death, here we are at the end of the film where Hank is once again "facing death," and getting another attempt at truly living. Not only do our true soulmates help us out when we're stuck in the obstacles of life, but also help us live and experience more when we become when we have someone to face them with.
Conclusion
So, was this movie strange and confusing? Yea. It was honestly pretty inevitable. But, typing this conclusion out after analyzing my key takeaways, I definitely appreciate the film so much more. I feel for Hank when the one person in his life decides to go away and leave you to go through life on your own. But now that I think about it, maybe Manny deciding to be an inanimate corpse again was what Hank's friends and loved ones would've felt if he did decide to stop fighting and commit suicide. Even if you don't think it, there are people who love and appreciate you for all of your flaws and quirks. It's just a matter of time until life brings those people when you need them most. And who knew, all it took was a farting, talking corpse to get that message across.
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