dvd of the week
You could call Swiss Army Man a cross between Weekend at Bernie’s and Castaway. It’s as bizarre and puerile as Bernie’s and aspires to Castaway’s depth; Swiss Army Man uses the insanity of its premise to create a powerfully symbolic fever dream about the power of friendship to heal the wounds of a lifetime of loneliness. Disheveled, dejected Hank (a brilliantly sensitive Paul Dano) is alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean, where he is setting up a ramshackle noose with which to hang himself. He sees a man wash ashore; he turns out to be both dead and played by Daniel Radcliffe (continuously ballsy in his post-Harry Potter choices). Quickly, Hank discovers that this body has uses – its farts propel him like a jet ski, fresh water flows out of his mouth, and he can be taught to talk. Hank and Manny (as he’s been dubbed) try to return to civilization and to Hank’s unrequited love (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). The movie is bizarrely funny, but also moving and ingenious.
