There are movies that can reward you immensely if you stick to them. However, that reward doesn't always come in the form you expect. In a world of instant payouts and fully explained results, like movies Eny's men doesn't appeal to the majority of moviegoers, but it certainly has a lot going for it if you're willing to see how far the pebble goes through the black hole.
The movie revolves around "The Volunteer" (Mary Woodvine), a woman who has to keep a daily log of what happens on a hill she lives on a remote island. She wakes up, checks a handful of flowers, measures the soil temperature, walks around and throws a stone into a deep hole in the ground. She looks at a clearly shaped rock and then goes back to a house where she writes a very short report for a radio communicator. Finally, she goes to a backyard, turns on a red machine and quits.
You'd never know from this synopsis, but Eny's men is packed with horror elements. But it's the kind of story that tells you the genre without actually telling you. Instead, it lets its elements speak for themselves. The first major clue is the eerie and uncomfortable soundtrack. It suggests that this is not a friendly environment for The Volunteer to live in. Then there's the production design which makes the environment uninviting at all. Mark JenkinsThe direction of 's also repeatedly establishes that The Volunteer is completely isolated, which is the perfect setup for the protagonist to let her mind wander. Then there are the more obvious clues, like the volunteer's red coat summoning danger outside the house, the pitch-dark dark nights she must brave, and the curiously titled handbook'A blueprint for survival.'
Then great cinema comes into play. It's the kind that allows you to peel back the layers of the story yourself. You could look Eny's men just like a biologist witnessing the growth of a rare flower, but Jenkin's script certainly gives you more than that to work with. A painting on the wall suggests that the isolated island is much more than it seems and it could also explain why a stone is thrown into a hole every day. In any case, the story is open enough to allow for multiple interpretations.
Eny's men also does a good job of putting us in the protagonist's mind. Like them, we slowly begin to question what we see on the screen. Characters appear and disappear out of nowhere. Was that an illusion or an actual event? Is that present or past? Do those two characters really interact or are we assuming that? The answers come slowly. A scar that can be seen at the beginning eventually turns into an answer to another question, a voice in the radio asks questions to which we would like to know the answers.
Of course you can't know for sure all the answers to what's going on Eny's men, but it's a pleasure to be able to try to figure it out. It's the kind of movie that invites reflection and challenges you to find meaning in wide and continuous shots, letting you peek into and enjoy a quiet and slow life that we all desperately need these days.
The most extraordinary thing about cinema is the endless stories the camera can tell and the many ways we can tell it. Eny's men may just be an enjoyable ride if Everything everywhere at once or Avatar: The way of the water, you just have to approach it the right way. It's the kind of story that benefits from multiple viewings, and you're sure to find something new each time you revisit.
Eny's men is the kind of movie that proves there's barely one formula for telling a story on the big screen. The lack of dialogue helps the viewer to get into the protagonist's main character and wonder what kind of situation she lives in, as well as why some thoughts come to her mind. It's open enough to be seen as a character study, a horror story, or something else entirely. But what's indisputable is the film's excellent use of wide shots and close-ups, the beautiful production design and cinematography, and Woodvine's calm yet compelling performance.
Judgement: a
Eny's men is in theaters now.
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