After being thoroughly disappointed by Terrence Malick’s tone poem The Tree of Life, I was hesitant to watch Melancholia after watching its similar artistic trailer and hearing comparisons between the two movies. However, unlike The Tree of Life, which I went to see thinking would be a good movie, I decided to view Melancholia because some were calling it the best performance of Kirsten Dunst’s (Spiderman, The Virgin Suicides) career. While Dunst was deserving of the praise, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the experience of Melancholia.
Lars von Trier (Dancer in the Dark, Dogville) tells his apocalyptic drama in two parts (Part I, Justine, and Part II, Claire). Melancholia is the name of an unknown planet, hidden for centuries behind the sun, on a path to collide with the Earth or nearly miss it. It is unknown how long the characters have known about this potential end-of-the-world scenario, but one can assume that it has been from a few weeks to a few months. We learn of the potentially dire situation some 3-4 days before its potential collision with the planet.
In Part 1 of the movie, we meet Justine (Dunst) on her wedding day. We meet her when she and her husband Michael (Alexander Skarsgard – Straw Dogs, Zoolander) are en route from the wedding ceremony and the reception. They both seem very happy and very much in love. At the reception, we meet the families. Jack (Stellan Skarsgard) is Michael’s best man and his father. He is also Justine’s boss. During his best man’s speech, he informs Justine that she has also been promoted. We believe at that point that Justine truly has it all. It is her wedding day, and family and friends surround her. She is young, beautiful, and seems to have everything going for her. But we quickly see all is not right with Justine.
She frequently disappears from the reception, going as far as to take a bath at one point. She is comforted by her older sister Claire Charlotte Gainsbourg (The Tree, Antichrist). Claire knows that her sister is sick. The two are very close. Rather than telling Justine she should be happy because it is her wedding day, she encourages her sister to try and make it through the night. As comfortable and carefree as Justine seemed to be with Michael in the limo on the way to the reception, we see just as quickly how fractured, confused, and uninterested she can change like a flick of a switch. To say that we say Justine’s full range of feelings on her wedding day would be an understatement. While most of us experience mixed emotions on our wedding day, we usually can find supreme comfort in the arms of family, friends, and a new spouse. Justine is the opposite. She becomes quickly disinterested and disassociates herself from those closest in her life. That is all of those outside of Claire. Claire is her comfort, safe place, and calm in her world of storm.
In Part I, Melancholia isn’t referenced by name. We don’t even know it’s a planet. It is referred to as a star by John. Justine is baffled later in the evening when she looks up for the star, only to see that it is nowhere to be found in the nighttime sky. This isn’t a crucial fact at the time, but it serves as a timeline between Part I and Part II. Without giving away any details regarding the conclusion of Part I, we can safely assume that it is a few weeks to a few months between the end of Part I and the start of Part II. This, I am still determining, though.
Nothing is concrete in this film, which is part of its beauty. Even though I didn’t understand, I appreciated the symmetry between Parts I and II. In Part I, Melancholia was the state of mind of our star’s protagonist. In Part II, Melancholia was the name of the planet destined to destroy the Earth. With sweeping imagery and a beautiful score, the movie’s tone is established early, and we rarely leave that zone.
Dunst was terrific, but Gainsbourg is more likely to be nominated for an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress). Her pleasant persona, confidence in how she carried herself, and the love of her dysfunctional family in Part I was tested in Part II. The whole “world-ending thing” didn’t sit too well with her. And with each passing scene, we could see her get increasingly rattled while Dunst’s character became more of that stabilizing force. It was almost as if the better off the world was, the worst off Justine was. When the world was nearing its potential end, Claire began to crumble, and Justine (in her own Justine kind of way) did her best to remain calm and reassuring. Not to be outdone in this film was Claire’s husband, John (Kiefer Sutherland – Flatliners, television’s 24). A wealthy scientist studying Melancholia since its onset, John is also a bit of a penny pincher. His love for Claire and his son Leo is evident, and while Justine’s behavior unnerves him, he isn’t mean or condescending to her. It’s hard, though, to see if John is more of a good or bad guy. A mystery revolves around him throughout the entire movie. As a third character, Sutherland is terrific. He serves as someone who is there to influence our impressions of Justine and Claire. He does that effectively.
I recommend Melancholia for those with an open mind going in. This comes from someone who saw The Tree of Life just a few months prior. I felt like The Tree of Life was one of the most unpleasant movies of my lifetime (certainly in the top 2-3 of films I’ve seen in the theater). As a result, I had trepidations about Melancholia. I’m glad I gave it a chance. It was a worthwhile experience that I will enjoy watching again one day.
Oh, by the way, I’m going to ignore some of the scientists who dismiss the idea of this happening, especially in a manner like this and all of the lawlessness we do not have a chance to see. It’s a science fiction/fantasy movie, and the characters are isolated miles away from civilization.
Plot 9/10
Character Development 9.5/10
Character Chemistry 9.5/10
Acting 10/10
Screenplay 9/10
Directing 9.5/10
Cinematography 9.5/10
Sound 9.5/10
Hook and Reel 8/10 (the first scene is weird; the second scene isn’t as odd, but still a bit out there. Nonetheless, I was enthralled)
Universal Relevance 7.5/10 (easy for a lot of us to relate with Part I…a little more challenging to relate to Part II)
91%