Antichrist
Genre: horror
Director: Lars von Trier
Release: 2009
Studio: Zentropa Entertainments, Slot
Machine, Memfis Film et al.
Rating: R (for graphic sexual situations)
MBiS score: 7.3 or 7.8/10, depending on
your familiarity with the genre
Show Your Love
With An Anklet, Darling!
Wintertime
in the State of Washington. While
his parents are making love, little Nic opens a window of their high-rise
apartment, climbs out and falls to his death. Such a loss leaves both parents
shattered and guilt-ridden; the father struggles to understand, the mother is hospitalized.
Is there any way for these people to pull through? With Willem Dafoe (He),
Charlotte Gainsbourg (She) and Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm (Nic).
Lars von
Trier often stirs up controversy with
his movies but ANTICHRIST, despite a hair-raising title, didn’t seem very
threatening to me; it deals much more with mental breakdown than religion,
satanic doings or some rendering of the Apocalypse. It’s basically a
slow-cooking horror flick (think MISERY, THE MUSIC OF CHANCE or THE SHINING)
that also echoes TREE OF LIFE and MELANCHOLIA with its arty, intellectual bent.
If you’ve already seen these other films, von Trier’s may feel like déjà vu
(which explains the two scores above) but it does present original insights and
is faithful to its intent ’til the very end. In the first act, I liked those
long sequences without dialogue, the impressive use of Handel’s music and von
Trier’s efforts to demonstrate the psychological aspects of grief. Then, as the
movie builds tension, it does deliver healthy jolts and darkly funny moments…
which was also fine by me. In the last act, however, the screenplay’s attempts
at symbolism failed to convince me and, dare I say it, I was quite relieved
when it all ended on an abrupt, merciful climax.
As you can see, I wasn’t bowled over by ANTICHRIST, a well-acted and
solidly produced film that offers shock value but modest enlightenment. Though
Willem Dafoe’s character claims that ‟ thoughts distort reality”, I’d say reality does catch up at some point,
especially toward the movie’s dénouement. In von Trier’s defence, I’d rather recommend
MELANCHOLIA (if you’re not feeling too depressed) and especially BREAKING THE WAVES, his
morally worthy and superior work from 1996.
MBiS
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