MELANCHOLIA - MIFF 2011

This was the film I was anticipating most at this year’s festival, and is the latest film from director Lars Von Trier.  The film is about a newly found planet called “Melancholia” that had been hiding behind the sun and is now on a collision course with Earth (or is it, because if the scientists are correct, it may just pass our planet).  The film is split into two parts and follows the way two sisters, Justine and Claire, deal with the impending doom.  The first part, “Justine”, follows that sister as she arrives at her wedding reception which is being held at her sister’s mansion which is situated on an eighteen hole golf course.  It starts off bad with the married couple being two hours late to the reception (due to a very funny incident involving the  stretch limousine) and it continues to get worse as Justine seems to become more and more distant as the night goes on.  She clearly suffers from depression, but it also appears that something else is troubling her, even frightening her, to the point that she begins to realize just how trivial her wedding actually is, in the grand scheme of things.  Is this just her depression taking hold of her or is something else really going on?

The second part, “Claire”, takes place after the wedding as we see Justine has gotten much worse, to the point that she can no longer look after herself and must stay with Claire (and her husband) and try to recover from her illness.  Claire’s husband is an avid astrologer and is extremely excited about the once-in-a-lifetime event of “Melancholia” passing the Earth, which is due to happen in a couple of days.  Claire herself, however, is very anguished by the event as she is terrified that the planet may actually collide with Earth.  No matter how much her husband tries to reassure her that this will not happen, her uneasiness is amplified by the fact that all of the wildlife that surrounds them appears to be unsettled, with her horses especially agitated.  What will be the future of Earth, if there is any at all?

Unfortunately it pains me to say that “Melancholia” was a bit of a disappointment.  Also, something that I never thought I would say about a Von Trier film, parts of this film were a complete bore.  The first half of the film frustrated me no end because the character of Justine just seemed like such a selfish character.  I understand that she was a slave to her depression, but she had all of those guests waiting on her (at the reception) and she disappears to go have a bath.  Again, I understand that she is unstable, but it just bugged me.  This segment is so long, and most of it is just dull as very little actually happens.  Also, I’m confused about whether or not the planet Melancholia is a known threat to everyone at this point.  By things that happen later in the second part, I don’t think it is, which leads me to believe that the opening ten minute “end of the world” sequence is a vision or dream that Justine has about Earth’s last hours (which would explain her fear throughout the film).

I much preferred the second half of the film when the planet Melancholia is much more front and centre and we get to see the characters react to the dire situation at hand.  I also particularly enjoyed the ending.  Kirsten Dunst won the Best Actress award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for her portrayal of Justine and it is well deserved because she is magnificent.  This is a role that is as dark and demanding as it gets and is as far away removed from her Mary Jane character in the “Spiderman” films.  She has never been better.  Charlotte Gainsbourg is also great (as usual) as Claire and it was nice to see Kiefer Sutherland in a good substantial role (as Claire’s husband John) away from Jack Bauer.  Charlotte Rampling and John Hurt, however, are both wasted in the small role of the girl’s parents.  Rampling is especially unpleasant in her role.

Overall, “Melancholia” is a bit of a misfire from Lars Von Trier, with the first half being incredibly dull.  It does pick up in the second half, mind you, and even illuminates parts of the opening half, but still it is just not enough.  I did like the fact that Justine seemed drawn to Melancholia, while Claire is terrified of it, and the film does have some highlights, but surprisingly I felt that the film even fell flat visually.

3 Stars.