philosoraptor42

Melancholia (2011)

This is the first Lars Von Trier film I have ever seen. I've heard mixed reports on his films, so it seemed to make sense to start with a sci-fi title.

I had heard that the initial opening of the film makes very clear that the Earth is doomed, showing the Earth being consumed when it collides with the planet Melancholia. However, I was expecting that to make up the majority of the opening before we got to meet the real characters.

What the opening actually turns out to be is a whole bunch of stylised shots placed one after the other and set to classical music, all hinting at events to come later in the film. Bizarrely there's one showing a boy sharpening a stick AFTER the one showing the destruction of the Earth.

Admittedly there's some pretty cool images in the bunch. There's a sundial and two lines of trees all shown with two sets of shadows pointing in entirely separate directions. There's also a shot of Kirsten Dunst admiring electricity flowing out of her fingers - which is weird since the trailers always made it look like that was part of the main film.

So, a bit of a pretentious opening then? I suppose I shouldn't be entirely surprised. What follows is essentially a film of two halves. The first half deals with a wedding, the second half deals with the inevitable destruction of the Earth. I was initially really disappointed with the first half of this film. It's hard to ascertain the relevance of anything which happens in the first half. It's hard to empathise with the absurdly rich family organising the event. Even once you've worked out who is related to who (which may take you into the second half) it remains that Kirsten Dunst is the only one from her side of the family with an American accent. Plus the first half's pacing seems to drag like hell.

Yet when the movie finished, I became aware that the first half DID have a purpose after all. The bride, played by Kirsten Dunst, is suffering from an extreme form of depression. A particular form characterised by a feeling of hopelessness. During the wedding her behaviour appears utterly bizarre. I remember when watching the trailers I was wondering why anyone would organise a wedding when it looked like the world was coming to an end, but actually the whole Melancholia issue doesn't arise until some time after the wedding. Dunst's depression is clinical and it is made clear that it has been a consistent issue for her for many years.

In the second half, Kirsten Dunst's character seems to be the only one who can remain level-headed in the face of the prospect of the doomed Earth. Her depression caused a problem when people around her expected her to be happy and to embrace life. The prospect of the world ending makes very little difference to her. There's even a suggestion that it is somewhat liberating.

Nevertheless, it remains that the pacing of "Melancholia" is a problem. Some plot elements are rather bizarre too. The protagonist's own boss makes a speech at her wedding, expects her to come up with an advertising tagline on the day and has also brought along a, presumably uninvited, employee. Kiefer Sutherland consistently exclaims that they have an 18-hole golf course and then we see a 19th hole. Oh and Kirsten Dunst's character can see the future. Why? Just because, that's why.

The way that the end of the world is tied to Kirsten Dunst's depressive condition is clever and the final moments of the film are extremely powerful. The second half of the movie is brilliant. However, the first half drags along and doesn't really feel like real life. I'm also not terribly impressed by the pretentious slideshow at the beginning. I can see how Lars Von Trier manages to be such a divisive figure. He clearly has enormous talent, but if his work is consistently dogged by misjudged quirks like this one is, it must be incredibly frustrating for many of those following his career. As interesting a cinematic experience as this may have been, I cannot really say that I 'liked' this film.

C+