Men, the newest film from A24, is a purposefully strange beast, a surrealist approach to questions about how the titular gender can view, react to, and vilify women -- imagining them as monsters while trying to make them into victims. Men is a tricky film, one that works from an almost ethereal approach. While the uniqueness may not sit well with all audiences, the impeccable filmmaking and incredibly strong cast help sell the deceptively heady production.

Men focuses on Harper (Jessie Buckley), who finds herself in a wounded emotional place when she decides to spend a holiday in the English countryside. Still reeling from the death of her husband James (Paapa Essiedu), which may or may not have been by suicide, Harper decides to give herself some time away to recover. Arriving in a small village, Harper rents a beautiful house from the posh Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear), an awkward and timid man. As Harper tries to finally relax and reconnect with the world around her, she increasingly finds herself watched, followed, and even threatened by numerous men around town -- all of whom share the same face as Geoffrey.

That last aspect is never commented on and instead plays into the almost dream-like qualities of the film. Writer/Director Alex Garland's previous films, Ex Machina and Annihilation, were surreal in their own ways but still grounded somewhat by plots that were tied to general sci-fi conventions and aesthetics. Men is a far more unique and ethereal piece, never explaining the strange circumstances that Harper finds herself in. The film uses the idyllic scenery to hide an uneasy aspect. Instead, the film -- frequently with little spoken dialogue or overt explanation -- will introduce some new figure to threaten or terrify Harper.

Alex Garland's proven himself adept at horror in the past, but there's a confidence in Men's almost airy direction and cinematography (courtesy of frequent Garland collaborator Rob Hardy) that helps increase the haunting nature of the landscapes and sudden terror of the film. Entire sequences will go by without a single line spoken, the tension and emotion of a moment being determined by the simple reveal of a figure in the distance. Additional credit has to be given to Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow, who composed the film's music and give the entire production a lightness that can find weight in a heartbeat.

The film's cast is small, with much of the film relying on the central performances. Essiedu and Gayle Rankin both do solid work with their relatively minor roles, but the film thrives or dies on the backs of Buckley and Kinnear. Luckily, the pair prove perfectly suited for their parts. Harper's predicament garners her consistent empathy from the audience, but her defiant moments of furious emotional vulnerability keep her from becoming one-dimensional. Kinnear, meanwhile, pulls off a near-impossible feat, playing multiple characters, each with their own unique sense of malice. Not enough can be said of Kinnear's performance, which Garland and Buckley described in interviews as "genius" -- and they're not wrong.

Men won't be for everyone. It's ultimately a very metaphorical film with very specific views about an ambiguous subject, more focused on raising questions and leaving them open to interpretation than actually making any broad statement about the world. This is best exemplified by a truly surprising finale, which will inevitably become one of the most talked-about film sequences of the year. It's a purposefully bizarre film, one that aims to leave the audience unsettled more than just scared.

Men is an exploration of survivor's guilt and gender roles without necessarily charting a singular explanation for either. Considering the film's heavy subject matter, cerebral exploration of womanhood, and the dark responses those can elicit from men, it really shouldn't. Men is a heavy film that won't leave every viewer satisfied, but it's not trying to be. Garland has claimed the film is more about the feeling of horror than the actual act of it, and he accomplishes that goal.

Catch Alex Garland's Men in theaters May 20.