Audience members are reported to have walked out during the Sundance screening of the actor’s new film – but don’t let that put you off

It’s usually only struggling actors who settle for playing dead bodies – Second Cadaver on CSI, for instance. But in the case of Daniel Radcliffe, death is his next career move. No one could fault him for his determination not to be defined by his time at Hogwarts. Even before he had hung up Harry Potter’s wand, he was exposing his own on stage every night in Equus. Since then, he has played Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings and starred as a suspected murderer who sprouts horns in, yes, Horns. All of which looks positively cautious next to Swiss Army Man, in which he plays dead.

Swiss Army Man review: dead Daniel Radcliffe farts Paul Dano to safety Read more

Far from being a silent partner, Radcliffe is revived on a desert island by a suicidal man (Paul Dano) who then uses the corpse’s flatulence to engineer an escape before commandeering his posthumous erection as a navigational instrument. Early reviews suggest a touching, if unorthodox, buddy movie. Midnight Cowboy with rigor mortis. Dude, Where’s My Corpse?

Not everyone has been enamoured. There have been reports of walkouts during the first Swiss Army Man screenings at Sundance. It’s important to keep this in perspective. Film festivals are full of people who skedaddle after the first half hour – there are so many movies to see that some viewers will bolt if they aren’t riveted from the get-go. (There are also many buyers in the audience who will know instantly if a picture is not right for their company.) Let’s also bear in mind that those leaving prior to the final credits have automatically disqualified themselves from delivering an informed verdict. We shouldn’t heed the opinion of anyone who doesn’t stay until the end. That’s a deal-breaker, as Liz Lemon would say.

Some of those walkouts might well be due to prudishness or weak constitutions. But anyone not attending Sundance shouldn’t be deterred by the movie’s premise. “Daniel Radcliffe plays farting corpse” doesn’t sound appetising. Then again, nor does “Man befriends volleyball”, “Fish gets caught in net” or “Small person disposes of jewellery”. Without them, though, we would have no Cast Away or Finding Nemo, and none of the Lord of the Rings films.