Midsommar's scary sequences that are burned into my memory for life, but also as an exploration of grief, toxic relationships, and how they can affect a person’s psyche.

Midsommar is also a film that invites a wide range of interpretations and conflicting thoughts about its meaning. One of the most interesting discussions about the film online has centered around the "good for her" meme, which gained popularity on Twitter in 2020 and then exploded on Letterboxd. The phrase “good for her” comes from an episode of Arrested Development and celebrates films where a woman overcomes a tumultuous experience but ultimately gains the upper hand and triumphs. Personally, I think Midsommar is the best example of a "good for her" movie, though others, including the film’s star, might disagree.

Midsommar's Ending Proves Why It's The Ultimate Good For Her Movie

Dani Ends The Film With A Smile And Finally Feels A Little Relief

Many of the "good for her" films often brought up in discussions revolve around revenge. These are movies where characters are wronged or abused and spend the majority of the film seeking retribution for those who caused them harm. Films like Gone Girl, Kill Bill, The Invisible Man, and Us are commonly cited in various lists on the topic. While those movies certainly count as "good for her" films, what is most interesting about Midsommar is that, despite its numerous killings and characters getting their comeuppance, I don’t think anyone would classify it as part of the revenge genre.

For me, Midsommar is all about the emotional journey Dani takes throughout the film. I don’t think I’ve ever felt such deep sympathy for a character and desperately hoped for some sort of relief for them. The film begins with Dani's boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), complaining about their relationship to his friends and essentially wanting to break up with her. The viewer already feels horrible for Dani before learning that her immediate family all died in a horrific murder-suicide. If only that was the worst thing to happen to Dani.

Over the next two hours, while still grieving for her family, Dani is continuously gaslit by her boyfriend, reluctantly attends a bizarre festival at a murderous commune, gets drugged, witnesses multiple Midsommar deaths, and experiences a series of unimaginable horrors. At times, it's torturous to watch one awful thing after another happen to this poor young woman.

I felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction as Dani, whom I empathized with so deeply, finally got a little relief and felt somewhat at piece, despite what crazy things might befall her next.

But in the final moments of Midsommar, when Dani chooses to sacrifice her terrible boyfriend and watches as he is stuffed into a disemboweled bear's body and burned inside a temple, she finally smiles for the first time in the film. I felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction as Dani, whom I empathized with so deeply, finally got a little relief and felt somewhat at peace, despite what bizarre things might befall her next.

Ari Aster's Comments About The Film's Meaning Confirm It's A Good For Her Movie

The Filmmaker Set Out To Make The Ultimate Breakup Movie

Ari Aster has been very vocal that he sees Midsommar as a breakup movie. The filmmaker had recently gone through a failed relationship when he wrote Midsommar and wanted to channel those feelings he was experiencing (via Variety):

I was sort of going through a breakup at the time and piecing through the ruins of a failed relationship. I’d wanted to write [a breakup movie] before, but I could never find an angle that felt interesting and didn’t feel like a mopey, kitchen sink drama.

Viewing the film through this lens definitely helps make the case that Midsommar is the ultimate "good for her" movie. In many relationships, couples refuse to break up because they are afraid of the consequences and of being alone. People would rather stay with someone they know isn't right for them than face the unknown or upend their life.

For Dani, who is experiencing extreme grief in the horror movie and literally has no family left, she would rather go down the path of staying with Christian and being manipulated by this murderous cult than experience any more loss. The film's ending finally allows her the choice of getting rid of the baggage that is dragging her life down.

Aster expanded on these thoughts in an interview with Vice, in which he discusses the feelings he wanted the film to evoke.

Midsommar for me was my breakup movie that felt as big, consuming, and cataclysmic as breakups tend to feel. It’s not the end of the world, but in a way it is. You build your life around a person, and all of a sudden, you find yourself in this very existential situation where you’re alone again. You have to look at your situation head-on, and face the fact that all of us are alone by nature. It’s why we put so much energy into our relationships—because it’s a distraction from the fact of our aloneness.

Florence Pugh's Interpretation Of Midsommar Contradicts Ari Aster's Intention

The Actress Sees The Film Very Differently Than The Director

Florence Pugh was asked about Midsommar's ending, and her opinion diverges completely from Ari Aster's intention. While Pugh's thoughts are entirely valid and actually align with those of many fans, she definitely wouldn’t consider Midsommar a "good for her" film. She sees the story as a descent into madness, and she interprets the final moments—along with her character's eerie smile—not as a sign of peace or relief, but as confirmation that Dani has suffered a complete psychotic break. In a WIRED interview for her film We Live in Time, Pugh had the following to say:

So I have a different version to Ari, the director. The idea is that she's now gone through a psychotic break. From the moment she chooses, I believe accidentally, Christian, her boyfriend, to get burnt, she keeps on waking up and going back into this like psychotic break and when that moment at the end happens, where everything is going up in flames, I tried to embody what I was like when I was five on Bonfire Night. And just how exciting it was to see flames, and I wanted to revert back to a very, very small and simple life of how simple things made and make children feel. Because in that moment, I presumed she wasn't there anymore.

I love that Pugh has the confidence to speak so eloquently about how she sees her character’s journey. Obviously, she understands Dani better than anyone, having embodied all the horrors the character faces throughout the film. That’s part of Midsommar's brilliance—it allows for different interpretations. Many fans online agree with Pugh and take issue with the film being considered a "good for her" movie. Their argument centers on the idea that Dani is manipulated by the cult throughout the film and ultimately used as a pawn, losing all agency when she is coerced into choosing her boyfriend’s death.

However, I tend to agree with Aster. After watching such an emotionally draining journey, I wanted Dani to experience even a small victory—to feel that, in that moment, she had found a sense of solace as she let go of the baggage that was holding her back.

Why Midsommar Rises Above Other Good For Her Films

While Many Good Films Might Be More Satisfying, Midsommar Is More Surprising

Part of the allure of the "good for her" genre is the moment when the main character finally succeeds and gets what they have desired throughout the film. Watching Cecilia kill her abusive boyfriend in The Invisible Man or seeing Beatrix Kiddo finally complete her mission in Kill Bill: Volume 2 is incredibly satisfying. However, I would argue that those films' endings feel somewhat expected, as they give the audience exactly what they want.

Even a film like Gone Girl, often cited as the ultimate "good for her" movie, never fully made sense to me in that context. While Amy technically gets what she wants in the Gone Girl twist ending, and gains the upper hand in her relationship, it remains a terrible and toxic situation for both her and Nick—especially with a child on the way.

Midsommar, on the other hand, delivers a completely unexpected ending. While it may not be the resolution many viewers hoped for, or even close to the best-case scenario for Dani, I still felt immense satisfaction — and, strangely, happiness — for her. And ultimately, that’s exactly what you want from a "good for her" movie.