Susan Granger’s review of “Melancholia” (Magnolia Pictures)
Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier’s work is unique, so perhaps it’s fitting that this grim psychological disaster tale begins with the overture to Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde” accompanying a dreamlike prologue of very, very slow-motion scenes of birds dropping, one after another, out of the sky, a bride striding across a manicured lawn, trailing vines and leaves, a mother running across an ominously darkened golf course, clutching a child, and a huge planet obliterating a smaller planet. What does it all mean?
The first section, “Justine,” is a flashback revolving around a smiling bride, Justine (Kirsten Dunst), desperately trying to disguise her depression. She’s a copywriter marrying a handsome but clueless, inarticulate groom (Alexander Skarsgard) at the lavish country estate occupied by her anxious sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), whose wealthy husband John (Kiefer Sutherland) is paying the bills. Her parents are divorced. Her father (John Hurt) is a drunken letch, while her bitter, misanthropic mother (Charlotte Gainsbourg) curses the whole institution of marriage. Her pompous boss (Stellan Skarsgard – Alexander’s real-life father) needs her to supply an ad campaign tagline, assigning an underling (Brady Corbet) to follow her around, hounding her all evening. Eventually, Justine’s angst and hysteria overwhelm her.
During the subsequent section, “Claire,” it become obvious that a wayward planet called Melancholia is hurtling toward Earth on a collision course. Keeping a watchful eye on his telescope, fatuous John declares that Melancholia will be a harmless ‘fly by’ but everyone else is not so sure, particularly distraught Claire who is certain that doomsday is coming, while Justine seems to be the calmer, more fatalistic sibling.
In many ways this bizarre, nihilistic meditation is a dreary, redundant, pretentious bore, continuing Von Trier’s gloomy cinematic exploration of the anguished suffering of women, as evidenced in “Breaking the Waves,” “Dogville” and “Dancer in the Dark.” On the other hand, the magnificent, ethereal visuals/special effects are haunting, particularly the opening collage which compresses the entire story.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Melancholia” is an imaginative, apocalyptic 6, perhaps more admirable than enjoyable.
