MovieChat Forums > Midsommar (2019) Discussion > No purpose for Dani character for the st...

No purpose for Dani character for the storyline to go where it did

posted 5 years ago by Dalovlee (40)
10 replies | jump to latest

SPOILERS: (don't read as plot is discussed)

Outside of the main character getting revenge on her insensitive boyfriend..The same outcome could have happened to the four guys who went to Sweden. So unless this story was written to be about the self pity low confidence girlfriend to somehow get back at her boyfriend her character wasn't needed to delve into the "rituals" the cult-like commune observed.
all the men in the film were unlikable so it's justifiable to sacrifice them as payback.

[–] Ginobili20 (40) 5 years ago

The whole point of the movie was that she lost her family and found a new one. That's why she smiles at the end, fully embracing the cult, not because she chose her boyfriend for the burning ritual.

There's a scene with the "friend" that brought them there and he's telling her he knows how it feels to be her cause he lost his family too but that the cult comforted him and became his new family.

You're looking at the plot at face value, its not just about a group of friends that go on a trip, she's basically being groomed for all of it.

[–] Dalovlee (40) 5 years ago

I can see you analogy now that you explain it like that..but yeah plot wise of exposing this crazy cult ehhh, that character could have been ditched. In some ways the plot was similiar to that movie Get Out, just plot of getting innocent main character (in that movie it was a guy) to go to remote area with his girlfriend and finds out her family is crazy too.

[–] Ginobili20 (40) 5 years ago

No, it's not an analogy that's the actual plot. Director needs the lead female part to show the audience that she lost her family and gained a new one in return.

You're saying she wasnt needed as in she could be left out and the movie would've carried on with the guys taking a trip for the worst....but this isn't Hostel the movie.

We already know there will be a cult by the title of the movie, so there's no exposing them, what's important is the transition of the female lead. Everytime she freaks out about her family she has to step away to cry and spaz out and her bf tells her he'll be somewhere else waiting whereas the cult literally cries with her. She smiled at the end cause she realizes she has a new family, not for revenge for peaking through the door and catching her bf with other women.

[–] fzane (1024) 5 years ago

If Dani lets Christian live, it's likely the cult kills them both. So, I believe in those moments of decision, she ultimately chose the lesser of two evils, and to protect herself. Once she realizes everyone is dead, she is not considering the cult her new family, but more as her captors. It's like taking Stockholm Syndrome to a whole different level! And, the smile she gives at the very end is her giving into her captors, and literally going insane.
Here is the last line from the script that reinforces what i'm saying:
A SMILE finally breaks onto Dani’s face. She has surrendered to a joy known only by the insane. She has lost herself completely, and she is finally free. It is horrible and it is beautiful.

[–] charliekelly (1018) 5 years ago

"A SMILE finally breaks onto Dani’s face. She has surrendered to a joy known only by the insane. She has lost herself completely, and she is finally free. It is horrible and it is beautiful."

That's very interesting. Her being held captive by the cult causes a mental breakdown that frees her from the mental anguish she'd always suffered in her regular life. I, too, first read it as a revenge/new family situation.

[–] fzane (1024) 5 years ago

charliekelly, the first time i watched the movie, I didn't understand fully either. Like most everyone else, I thought she just wanted to get back at Christian, and did it out of spite, enjoying the emotional support of her new family. It wasn't until thinking on it for weeks, seeing the movie again, and again with the The Director's Cut (specifically the argument with Christian where she wants to leave, and he won't let her go), and finally reading the script that I was able to realize the absolute hidden genius in the last few minutes of this film. After the loss of her sister and parents, Dani's mind was like a fractured egg shell, and so the cult was able to easily break her down. That is why Dani looks so odd on the movie poster. She has literally lost her mind. :-)

[–] Ginobili20 (40) 5 years ago

No offense but it took multiple viewings to figure that out?

[–] fzane (1024) 5 years ago

Ginobili20, like you did, and still seem to (according to your comments anyway), i originally thought she got rid of Christian to protect her only source of emotional freedom: her new family. It wasn't until checking the Director's Cut, and the script that I realized that she was more experiencing Stockholm Syndrome crossing over into insanity. She didn't "want" to consider these people that just murdered her friends her new family, but was more "broken down" to the point of accepting her fate. There's a big difference, and that's the big epiphany here. If she thought there was any chance she could escape with Christian, she would have done that over choosing this "family". Sure, when the women of the cult cry with her, she feels family, and connected, but this does not and cannot continue once she realizes these people "murdered" all her friends. She's not a murderer, and no sane person would want to be "family" with murderers. She realized there was no escape, and instead chose to save her own life, and then went insane. Her choice has nothing to do with embracing "family", but rather, giving into necessity in order to stay alive. Think of it this way: When you have Stockholm Syndrome, and are seemingly in love with your captors, does that equate to "family" in reality? Nope. It's something different entirely.

[–] charliekelly (1018) 5 years ago

I appreciate you adding that part from the script, as it says so much in just four sentences.

I've only seen the DC; I heard it was worth the wait. So, as bad as I wanted to see it, I still waited. Glad I did.

[–] Nate Adams SA23 (900) 5 years ago

I disagree with the Stockholm syndrome theory. Yes she did choose Christian for the sacrifice but she wasn’t happy with it or thinking of revenge.

Then the fire happens and the 2 village sacrifices start screaming and then the cult starts screaming too.

It’s here that Danny comes to a realization. She has been carrying her grief for the whole movie and only gave brief screams of pain in quiet. Now she looks around and sees them genuinely expressing grief, they are in pain too just like her. She could now grieve as much as she needed in this space without the fear of upsetting her boyfriend or his friends.

In a twisted way she now found a place where she’s accepted.