Hard to watch, hard to forget

Before watching this movie, it was easy to joke about the title, 'Men', as a true horror story for women. That became the reality of watching Harper (Jessie Buckley) navigate an all too real horror: the inescapable nature of trauma and the way it rears its head if it is suppressed.

Our story follows our lead as she sets out for a much-needed relaxation in the beautiful English countryside of Cotson. What starts off as a place to heal becomes an intrusive nightmare. Harper experienced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her late husband (Paapa Essiedu). While recovering from his suicide, her trauma is ever-present through the flashbacks she experiences. The movie uses her background of abuse to make us question her current predicament.

We find out that something is very wrong in this utopia she has found. We question her paranoia and the truth of her reality. Every man that enters her life can stand for her unprocessed grief and trauma. Rory Kinnear plays the face of every man she encounters, and through her eyes we see how since her domestic abuse she views every man as a threat, regardless of age or profession.

While traumatic, this is a film of hope. We watch as Harper takes back her autonomy in the face of a home invasion and a suddenly claustrophobic atmosphere. We watch her boundaries being violated repeatedly. The only person in the whole movie who supports Harper's wishes is her friend (Gayle Rankin). Everyone else around her places a level of blame on her for what she has experienced.

Finally, the shocking ending makes you aware of the cycle of abuse and how men teach generation after generation a level of misogyny. Men birthing men with the same wound that occurred due to an act of abuse against a woman is the on-the-nose metaphor for the perpetuation of abuse.

We can also interpret the final scene as Harper seeing her late husband in every man until finally, she can face the core issue in order to work through the trauma he caused her.

While this film is hard to watch, it is also hard to forget. The critique of the patriarchy and the fear and dismissal that women live with, will stay with you long after you've seen the movie.

- Reviewed by Rhea Jagtiani, a Counselling Masters graduate from Mumbai, India