Melancholy Baby from Melancholy Dane

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Movies Editor

“Melancholia” has been described as a “beautiful movie about the end of the world…a psychological disaster film.” Films about the destruction of Earth are nothing new, but the vast majority focus on action, elaborate special effects, and widespread panic and chaos. “Melancholia” is a disaster film for viewers who normally prefer to avoid disaster films at all costs. Viewers who enjoy typical disaster films are more likely to want to avoid “Melancholia” at all costs, as it is really a long, deliberately-paced character study about the effects of depression and the relationship between two sisters (Kirsten Dunst as “Justine” and Charlotte Gainsbourg as “Claire”). Depending upon the viewer’s own state of mind, attitude, and approach to the film, “Melancholia” may serve as an uplifting, exhilarating personal catharsis, or as a painfully overwrought and relentless expression of despair over human civilization and the pointlessness of life.

Controversial Danish writer-director Lars von Trier is noted for his connection to the “Dogme 95” movement in filmmaking style, which avoids traditional cinematic conventions like studio sets, background music, tripods, and studio-type lighting. Trier obviously abandons the rough-edged style for the opening prologue to “Melancholia,” which uses an extreme slow-motion flash-forward that includes some spectacular computer-generated space imagery, all accompanied by the strains of Wagner’s majestically melancholy “Tristan and Isolde.” Essentially a movie-within-a-movie, this is the most impressive and powerful portion of the film, for some viewers the only part they actually like. Enigmatic and self-consciously artistic, this sequence gains in power when seeing it again after watching the rest of the film.

The rest of the film is divided into two sections, entitled “Justine” and “Claire.” Part One, mostly in warm yellow-orange tones, covers the disastrous wedding party put on for Justine and her new husband (Alexander Skarsgård) by Claire’s wealthy husband (Kiefer Sutherland), with the strong Claire trying to hold things together. This is where we see Justine gradually unraveling and finally melting down amidst the tension of her severely dysfunctional family and her job she has come to despise. Both the subject and the (increasingly more annoying) shaky hand-held, jump-cut style are strongly reminiscent of Jonathan Demme’s “Rachel Getting Married,” and both the embarrassing character outbursts and the elliptical parallel editing of multiple characters calling to mind Robert Altman’s “A Wedding.” A number of images of the elaborate estate also seem to reference “Last Year at Marienbad” and there is an obvious visual allusion to Ophelia in “Hamlet,” perhaps a double allusion to von Trier himself.

Part Two is cast in cooler, more realistic colors, and takes place over the weeks following Justine’s breakdown as Claire tries to become a caregiver for her sister, and most of the events tend to be focused more on Claire. Meanwhile, a newly-discovered planet named Melancholia, from the far side of the sun, has been calculated to make a close and spectacular pass by Earth, but some scientists predict it will crash into the Earth instead. Now it is Claire’s turn to feel insecure and depressed while Justine eventually reaches a point of passive if cynical resignation that her sister seems to see as a kind of strength. The film has certain similarities to Sean McConville’s “Deadline,” and perhaps even Roman Polanski’s “Repulsion,” but without the horror-thriller aspects. The deeply introspective films of Ingmar Bergman’s middle period appear to be a major influence, especially in this half of “Melancholia.” Trier himself has expressed a connection to the films of fellow countryman Carl Theodor Dreyer.

While he occasionally relieves the pervasive pessimism with some humor (usually caustic or darkly ironic, and mainly in the first half), von Trier is no Bergman or even Dreyer. After the mesmerizing prologue, it is the strong performances of Dunst (who won Best Actress at Cannes for her role) and Gainsbourg that are what tie the film together and keep it involving. Sutherland is also very good throughout, and the first half has some very memorable scenes with Charlotte Rampling and John Hurt as Justine’s bitter, divorced parents. Stellan Skarsgård is appropriately smarmy as Justine’s mercenary boss and her husband’s Best Man, while Udo Kier gets in some amusing bits as the mortified Wedding Planner.

It may well be that the whole concept of the world coming to an end because of a planet named “Melancholia” is intended to be simply a metaphor for the experience of such deep clinical depression (which von Trier himself is periodically subject to). How many depressed people have been told, “it’s not the end of the world - get over it”? Well, here, it IS the end of the world. The film is certainly a vivid presentation of various types and stages of depression, and makes no suggestions for any way of relieving it. Nor does it give any hope for the ultimate fate of humanity on earth or possibility for an afterlife. Rather, it maintains that these are an inevitable fact of life that should be taken as such. Nevertheless, while characters assert that humanity is evil and its loss should not be mourned, the film depicts an individual sense of care between certain people that seems to contradict its own premise. For if individual people can recognize the evil in the world and choose not to be part of it, and to help those they love cope with their fears, doesn’t that negate such extreme pessimism? This implicit, if faint hope in human nature may be what so deeply impresses and remains with those viewers who rank the film as a masterpiece despite its flaws.

“Melancholia” is undeniably an interesting film with some powerful moments, but is likely too melancholy for moviegoers looking for an entertaining diversion unless they’ve recently had similar feelings of depression they’d like to try purging with the help of this film. It played last spring in Europe, and is currently in a very limited release doing modest business in the United States, opening December 16th at the Fargo Theatre.

Questions and comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)