Swiss Army Man

Shipwrecked Hank (Paul Dano) is about to kill himself out of loneliness and despair when he sees a washed-up corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) on the beach. Using the corpse's explosive flatulence, Hank manages to reach to another shore, closer to potential rescue. But the usefulness of the corpse, whom Hank dubs Manny, continues. Manny’s erection always points where they need to go, and soon, Manny begins talking. Hank teaches Manny, who has no memories, about what life has to offer, the good and the bad.

God bless Daniel Radcliffe. He probably could find work in normal movies, but he chooses these weird little goblin roles, and the world is a better place for it.

Swiss Army Man has a premise that tells you the movie is going to be very good or very bad. There is no middle ground. The story is so bizarre that only people who truly believed in it would have had the guts to attempt it. Those who seek the comfort and assurance of reliable, bland formula would not have dared.

Swiss Army Man is a funny movie. It's crude, in bad taste, awkward, uncomfortable, and gross but elevated to the point of comic surreal. In its own way, it's moving.

Manny is almost child-like in his understanding of the world, and Hank has to explain everything to him, including music, the bus, food, love, social norms of farting, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, and masturbation.

Manny also can't move (His head tends to hang lopsided at a sickening angle), and his body goes through a ton of abuse that would have killed him if he weren't already dead. He also farts. A lot. To the point Hank shoves a cork up his ass.

The sight of Hank riding Manny's body over the water like a jet ski or through the air like a rocket is outrageous to the point of glorious. Manny also serves as a freshwater spigot when Hank is thirsty, and Hank discovers he can put objects in Manny's mouth and hit him in the stomach to create a human pistol. The montage of the two slaughtering a host of wildlife using this method is a darkly funny highlight.

But the movie is more than a silly romp. Dano and Radcliffe play their roles completely straight-faced and sincerely, and there is genuine pathos to their relationship. The filmmakers have taken lowbrow subject matter - farting, gross out, necrophilia - and churned it into something with a higher meaning and emotional resonance. It's almost a coming-of-age story, figuring out your place in the world, and the connections we foster to escape the pain of loneliness.

Amidst all the jokes about farts and boners, Manny and Hank develop a tender friendship, and the movie raises deep questions about life, our place in the world, and the connections we foster to escape loneliness. When the movie is not outrageous or hysterical, it’s touching