Spoilers ahead.
"Divisive" is a good word to describe director Lars von Trier, both in terms of his work and of the man himself. Von Trier has been known to be a difficult man to work with at best, and downright cruel and piggish at worst. Earlier this year, he made a, er, gaffe at Cannes by saying he "understood" Hitler (Google the clip--it's painful to watch). It's no secret that von Trier, as talented as he may be, has some serious issues.
Likewise, von Trier's films are, well, difficult. I've seen a number of them and I always seem to either love them or hate them. While I felt that Breaking the Waves and Dogville were beautiful, amazing films, Dancer in the Dark was like nails on a chalkboard to me. And Manderlay, the sequel to Dogville, was just stupid in my opinion. Melancholia may be the first von Trier film that I didn't hate, but didn't love. It's beautiful, it's intense, and it's extremely difficult to sit through. At times, I was bored to distraction. But by the end of the film, my heart was racing. I still don't know what I really think of this movie.
Melancholia is about two things: depression and the apocalypse (now I know you're dying to see it!). The first half of the film focuses on internal depression. It follows Justine (Kirsten Dunst, in what I think is her greatest performance yet), a young woman on her wedding day. Her sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and brother-in-law, John (Kiefer Sutherland), are enormously wealthy and the reception is held at their estate. Justine barely makes it through the evening, often sneaking away to walk outside or take a bath in the middle of the festivities. Claire, John, and Justine's brand new hubby, Michael (Alexander Skarsgaard), keep guilt-tripping her about not being happy. When she protests "I keep smiling and smiling..." her sister says "You're lying to all of us." God, with family like this, who needs enemies?
No wonder Justine is exhausted and depressed--I was exhausted and depressed just watching the damn thing unfold. Seriously, the wedding in Melancholia has to be the most awful wedding, in real life or on screen, ever. By the end of the evening, Justine leaves her husband and has sex with another guy on Claire and John's golf course (yes, they have a golf course. These people have more money than God) and then insults her boss and gets fired. You go, girl! It's her wedding and she can act like a crazy person if she wants to!
At the start of the second half of the movie, Justine is so severely depressed, she can no longer bathe herself or eat. She comes to live with Claire and John and just sleeps for 15 hours a day. Anti-depressants, people! They exist for a reason!
But the bigger concern of the second half of Melancholia is a giant planet that has been discovered by scientists. Appropriately named "Melancholia", the experts believe that the planet will pass by Earth harmlessly. Claire, however, is terrified of it. She has reason to be. Although Melancholia does initially pass by Earth, it starts heading back on a collision course. When John discovers this, he quickly takes the coward's way out and commits suicide, leaving his wife and young son behind. Claire is, of course, distraught. Her husband has killed himself, she has a young son she can no longer protect, and not only will she die when Melancholia hits the earth--everything and everyone she ever loved will be destroyed as well. Justine, on the other hand, emerges from her depression and becomes a source of calm and strength for Claire. Now that Justine's depression is externalized in Melancholia, she and Claire have reversed roles. In the last moments, she helps Claire's son, Leo, build a symbolic "magical cave" out of sticks. Claire, Leo, and Justine sit in the cave as Melancholia gets closer to Earth and eventually destroys it.
Interestingly, watching the earth blow up was easier than watching Justine's travesty of a wedding.
What does it all mean? I think the simplest interpretation is the best--Melancholia is simply about depression and its destructive nature. Because of her depression, Justine destroys her marriage and career in the first half of the film. In the second half, a planet named after depression destroys everything. No one can escape it. Claire and John may be insanely wealthy, but even they can't fight the inevitability of such an enormous disaster. Like the disease of depression, the planet Melancholia is all-consuming.
Melancholia is filled with beautiful images (as well as a lot of gut-churning hand-held camera work) and devastating emotions. Claire's agitation and hysteria near the end of the film really got to me. I didn't enjoy the first half of the movie mainly because I couldn't relate to the characters or the situation at all. I just kept thinking how annoying, mean, and stupid everyone was acting. But I could sympathize with Claire's helpless response in the face of impending doom. If I was in the same situation, I would not be calm like Justine. I would definitely be like Claire--a frantic, trapped animal. So while the emotions I experienced during the second half of Melancholia were not positive, they felt very real and very intense. I don't watch Lars von Trier's movies to feel happy--I watch them to feel a sort of catharsis. And to that end, Melancholia was successful. In terms of cinematography and acting, Melancholia is among von Trier's best work. But it just didn't captivate me and hold on to me the way Breaking the Waves and Dogville did.
3.5 out of 5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment