Review

Perhaps, when thinking about Melancholia, it's best to ignore the giant elephant in the room. No, we're not talking Lars von Trier's infamous Nazi comments made at the film's debut at the Cannes Film Festival, but about von Trier, himself. How could a director with such a history of provocations, both on-screen and off, make such an unabashedly beautiful, sensitive film? Is he actually mocking us and our affection for classic European art films and aesthetics? Possibly, but none of that should take away any enjoyment from this astoundingly accomplished film.

The film opens with a short prologue filled with mysterious images of Justine (Kirsten Dunst) slowly moving through a beautiful lawn as mysterious white powder falls from the sky. This is intercut with cosmic footage of a giant planet on a beautiful collision course towards Earth. To avoid spoiling, we'll avoid discussing the particulars further, but needless to say much of the footage is in slow-motion while Wagner plays on the score. Nit-pickers (and possibly von Trier himself) may find the obviousness of the music choice trite, but slightly less jaded viewers will find it difficult to ignore the magnificence of the spectacle.

Once the prologue is complete, we are brought into Part 1 of the film titled "Justine." We meet Justine and her new husband Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) who are having an awfully hard time getting their stretch limo up the winding dirt path to her sister and brother-in-law's massive estate where a lavish wedding reception is being held for them. In these moments, the couple seems like any other newlywed duo: happy and beaming at each other. Anyone whose seen the trailer (or even read the title, really) will know this happiness will not last. Finally arriving at the house, they are met by Justine's sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg and brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland) who are both more than a little annoyed at the fact that the newlyweds are over two hours late. It is not their annoyance, but Justine's sudden noticing of an unusual star which first causes her happy exterior to begin to show cracks. The wedding quickly falls apart in increasingly black comic displays of neuroses (botched parent toasts, Justine taking a bath while the cake cutting is supposed to occur) all of which results in Justine having a full breakdown, leaving her both husbandless and jobless. All facades of happiness ripped away, von Trier leads us into Part 2, titled "Claire."

Part 2 picks up weeks (or possibly months later) when it has been revealed that the mysterious star Justine noticed is not a star, but a previously undiscovered planet, Melancholia, which is supposed to pass Earth by cosmic inches. Justine, a shell of even her brokedown self at this point, has come to live with John and Claire who share tension over her presence. Preoccupation with Melancholia's approach overcomes all except Justine who seems to grow less depressed with every day the planet comes closer. John is adamant that the scientists are correct that the planet will bypass Earth and turns the cosmic event into a chance to bond with and educate his son Leo (Cameron Spurr). Claire, however, isn't so sure and begins to become more panicked while Justine is positive that the planet will destroy Earth, a fact with seems to have no emotional impact on her whatsoever.

These disparate emotional reactions are merely part of what von Trier is exploring here. He also concerns himself with mental illnesses impact on all those around it. Of course, as mentioned earlier, he could just be mocking our pretensions by making a film about disaffected rich people on the cusp of the end of the world. But traces of malignant satire are sparing. Inevitable black comedic antics during the wedding aside, the tone of the film is utterly humanist at least towards the films leads, Dunst and Gainsbourg (male characters are less developed). This humanism may be inevitable as both actresses lend tremendous pathos to their imperfect characters. Dunst, in particular, gives the performance of her career. This isn't some back-handed comment, either. She demonstrates abilities in this film that she'd barely even hinted at in all of her screen performances leading up to it. Her eyes convey an incredible amount of complicated emotion throughout and not once does she overact or indulge in histrionics. That she was ignored at most award shows seems more than criminal.

Equal to the task of matching Dunst's acting are the transcendentally beautiful, painterly visuals that gel together like a warm bath through the very fluid editing. Von Trier does employ a few devices from his avant-garde bag of tricks (jump cuts are common) but all of these are muted to the main goal - capturing the beauty of sadness. Of course all of this pristine filmmaking makes one wonder whether it's all a big joke to von Trier, himself. That the maestro isn't just mocking his wealthy characters who worry about meaningless rituals during a catastrophic meltdown (or, later, catastrophe), that he is mocking us for enjoying the spectacle. Perhaps he is, but it is a spectacle which he has made almost impossible not to enjoy. He has made a film about depression and catastrophe that is a cinematic treat and somehow manages not to be that depressing itself.

 -- Daniel Reed