The Most Controversial and Divisive Film of the Decade
Written: Oct 31 '09 (Updated Oct 31 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: von Trier's direction, eerie atmosphere, Dafoe and Gainsbourg's performances
Cons: VERY intense, not suited for everybody, don't know if I like or dislike it.
The Bottom Line: While it doesn't take a deeply religious route as the title suggests, its graphic and disturbing depiction make it an unforgettable film.
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| JiggyJay's Full Review: Antichrist |
Every ten or so years a film comes around where you can't help but feel divided over the fruits it bears. Last decade a film was released that I could hardly stomach. It was a good film, but one with a subject matter that was brutal, with acting that was uber-realistic, and questions that I did not want answered. That film was Larry Clark's Kids.
In the 2000s, Antichrist will be the same--infecting theatre art-house conversations (and water cooler discussions) with the questions that are brought up. Even more so, these conversations will stem around to if they actually "enjoyed" the film or even liked it. This has been the question I've been asking myself for hours after the fact and I honestly can't come up with an answer.
Antichrist has six parts all labeled within the film (such as Prologue, Chapter One: Grief, etc.) and it all begins with the death of a couples' child as they are passionately making love. With the guidance of the psychologist husband, they decide to board themselves up into their cabin in the middle of nowhere, which they call "Eden" to confront their demons, outrun their guilt, and bypass the seven stages of grief. So begins a journey to hell for both where they won't be able to come back unscathed.
I've wanted to see this for some time after hearing how divided the audiences were throughout the film festivals especially with von Trier being booed off stage at Cannes and winning an anti-award. Antichrist not only divided the people I saw it with, but audiences around the world with people condemning it while others are calling it one of the best masterpieces of modern cinema. This is a real grey area, even for me.
Thiis just opened in my area at an artsy theatre and to be honest I didn't know what to expect. I've peeped the trailer a few times prior and it got me really interested, but I didn't know if this was going to be a drama or a horror movie. The truth is...it's somewhere in the middle.
Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg lead the film as the grieving couple and after watching this film it looked like these two went through hell during shooting as there are so many sex scenes, gruesome parts, and overall psychologically harmful areas which they delve into.
Overall, these guys give two of the most startling performances I've seen in years, with confessional realism and drama that doesn't get into the category of melodrama. Being that these are the central characters in the picture, they get all of the screen time to develop their characters and while they aren't extremely well written, per se, the meat of the movie is the dire situation they are in.
To be honest I'm not quite familiar with Lars von Trier, but he's directed one of the best films I've ever seen--2003's Dogville with Nicole Kidman (if you haven't seen this, you must). Technically speaking this film is shot very well and has an atmosphere that had me ridiculously tense. His dramatic use of distorted visualizations and music make this movie really hard to grasp as does his script, which will surely turn a few heads.
Antichrist needs to be watched multiple times to truly interpret what's going on within as there is a plethora of devices on (and off) screen that make you wonder what is truly going on. With that said, my friend thought the script and overall narrative was poorly written by von Trier, but I disagree.
There is a lot at work here, so much so that I initially didn't really understand what this whole movie had been about after the credits rolled, but one that, upon introspection starts to unravel itself and the message is quite out there. Many people have called it sexist among other worse things, but this is really just in the eye of the beholder.
This film is very unpredictable with scenes and shots that are sure to shock the audience. Being an unrated picture (AKA NC-17 or "X") there is a close-up of penetration in a sex scene between the two leads along with a multitude of other sex scenes. Not only that, but there are a few gory parts that not only made my girlfriend and my friends look away, but they made me positively nauseous--and I'm not a squeamish person. All I can say is beware: some of this stuff is not for the faint of heart, trust me on this as I would wish not to write about it here.
We were caught in a rainstorm on the way to the theatre and I was soaked so much so that I was freezing in the theatre the entire time (poor me), but I can honestly say that was not the only thing giving me the shivers. There were some truly eerie parts that kept me on edge and I classify this as a horror/drama hybrid with an emotional intensity and atmosphere that I have never seen on film. Initially, the three other people in my group didn't know what to think about this and I'm gridlocked as well.
Technically, this was very well shot, well written, two great performances, but was it entertaining? No, not really. Would I watch this again? Well, maybe in a few years. This was an experience, that's for sure, and one that will not suit many people from the awkward glances after the movie was over from other filmgoers. Antichrist is a tightrope of a film where I'm going to recommend it, but take it as a cautionary recommendation, one that most will not understand nor like at all. I'm giving this four stars because this IS above average, it is a well-made film, but its material is something to heed warning about.
© Jason Haskins, 2009
Happy Halloween, everybody! :/
Recommended:
Yes
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JiggyJay
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Member: Jason Haskins
Location: Portland, Oregon
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