3.5 Out of 5 Stars
Swiss Army Man hit DVD and Blu-ray last week and while its notorious as being the film where Daniel Radcliffe plays a flatulent corpse, most fail to mention anything else about this great little film or what it’s actually about. While yes, you do have Harry Potter farting up a storm, what most fail to discuss is how effective the film is at presenting how one very broken individual disconnects from our connected society.

The film stars Paul Dano as Hank, a marooned man on a desert island who’s literally at the end of his rope when a corpse washes ashore, played by Daniel Radcliffe. Delusional from hunger and lack of water Hank begins an unlikely friendship with the lifeless body he names “Manny”, who thanks to drowning has forgotten what its like to be alive. As Hank tries to impart onto Manny what he remembers from life before the island, the more Manny understands and the more reanimated he becomes. One side effect however is Manny begins to develops a set of superpowers as well to aid Hank in survival on the island, hence the title Swiss Army Man.


The film at its heart is a very touching story of discovery, as man who has lost his way needs to reclaim his humanity to find his way back to the real world. Radcliffe definitely took a risk with the role that could have simply been silly and gross, but instead is a kind voice of reason to Hank as we piece together the events that landed him on the island. As the film progresses and we find out just what happened to Hank, Dano does an excellent job at balancing a certain naivety into the character that definitely saves him in the final moments of the film. These more serious undertones are kept in check by the absurdness of the powers Manny begins to manifest to help save Hank ultimately from himself.

The disc from Lions Gate comes packed with deleted scenes, a behind the scenes featurette, and a director’s commentary. The featurette is a must watch in that you get a glimpse of all the strange practical effects that went into play for some of Manny’s super powers. I was honestly amazed at given how easy it would have been in CG, the directors still tried to keep it all practical as possible, even the scene where Manny becomes a Jetski. The film itself looks great with an amazing Dolby Atmos track, which took the experience to a whole new level and really brought out the excellent/bizarre sound design in the film.


To be honest Swiss Army Man definitely surprised me with its depth and comedy that didn’t simply rely on fart jokes, but by painting hilariously candid look at what it is to be human today. Both funny and touching this film brings a very unique pop culture infused story to life that you won’t soon forget. While most will get hung up on the simple premise alone, this is definitely a film worth checking out. Touching as it is surreal Swiss Army Man could be one of my favorite comedies of the year.