By Ron Wilkinson Oct 23, 2009, 15:37 GMT
A blood soaked horror fest with surrealistic overtones in the stripped down von Trier style. Overly disturbing but still a must see for fans of von Trier, Dafoe or Gainsbourg
In a March 2009 interview with iconic uber-indie writer/director Lars von Trier (“Dogville,” “Dancer in the Dark,” “Breaking the Waves”) the devil-beset film maker described the circumstances surrounding the writing of this screenplay. He described himself as suffering from depression, everything seeming unimportant and trivial and his being incapable of work. In this condition he wrote the script for “Antichrist.” If you think you have seen heavy films you ain’t seen nuttin’ until you see this.
Regarding the Not Rated rating, this film is not rated for several very good reasons. Any one of the most disturbing five or six scenes alone would garner a solid “X” from the less than understanding MPAA (The MPAA discussion of the film on IMDB is longer than this film review. Squeamish viewers might want to take the time to read the discussion even though it contains some spoilers).
The film consists almost entirely of two characters. Married couple “He” played by twice Oscar nominated Willem Dafoe (“Platoon” and “Shadow of the Vampire”) and “She” played by Charlotte Gainsbourg. Gainsbourg, a two time French Cesar winner pocketed the coveted Best Actress award at the 2009 Cannes FF for her scintillating performance in this film. She does everything but set the piano on fire in this powerful story of grief and loss.
The film starts with the death of the couple’s infant child who dies while they are making passionate love. This event causes intense guilt feelings in the couple. “He” is a psychological counselor who tries to talk his wife out of her near-coma obsession over their child’s death but she slips further and further into an abyss that eventually becomes homicidal.
The two retreat to their once-favorite idyll in the pristine forests of the mountains where they plan to rest and get their life together. At this point the film takes on the feeling of the horror classic “The Shining” where struggling writer Jack Nicholson goes bonkers at the isolated Colorado retreat. The screenplay could be considered both pornography and a horror story although the latter part of the film is solidly in the horror genre. He is trying to escape while saving the life and sanity of his partner while she is in an uncontrollable deadly rage apparently bent on killing them both.
As in von Trier’s’ earlier films this one has a marvelous stripped down look and feel consistent with the guidelines of the “Dogme 95” convention. The visual expression is as pristine as the mountain streams. There are no sets, no artificial lighting, and no costumes. Director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle rejoins von Trier after their past efforts in the blockbuster “Manderlay” and “Dogville” (“Manderlay” also featuring Willem Dafoe). Mantle has done much of his previous work with Thomas Vinterburg in creating the brooding, overcast feelings of impending doom in “Last King of Scotland” and “Dear Wendy” and this film is creepier than either of those (beating out Idi Amin in the creepiness category is not easy…). There is something about the flat light and rainfall of the mountain idyll (named “Eden” with a full measure of irony) that amplifies the entrapped horror the two characters are feeling. Death is the only relief they have but it continually eludes them.
The movie makes enthralling diversions in and out of surrealism as well as the over-riding horror and carnal themes. The symbols of the "the 3 Beggars" (a deer who represents grief, a fox who represents pain and a crow who represents despair) are recurrent with the crow/raven finally exposing He in his hiding place where He is discovered by his insanely wrathful wife. Another fascinating symbol is the acorns that fall against the roof of the cabin in a natural tattoo that eventually expands into a crescendo of maddening noise as the two protagonists come closer to the realization that their options are almost exhausted.
This film will not go down in history as one of Lars von Trier’s greatest but it is still worth watching if you are a fan of his or of Dafoe’s or Gainsbourg’s. Her performance is one of the most intense ever filmed and would be every bit as powerful without the worst scenes of bloody violence and without the most explicit scenes of sexual activity. Many will end up considering Nicole Kidman’s performance in “Dogville” to be more expressive even though it is considerably less outrageous.
Directed and Written by: Lars von Trier
Starring: Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg
Release: October 23, 2009MPAA: Not RatedRuntime: 109 minutes Country: Denmark / Germany / France / Sweden / Italy / PolandLanguage: EnglishColor: Color, some scenes B&W
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