Melancholia Movie Review

Melancholia (2011)

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Written by: Lars von Trier
Directed by: Lars von Trier
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, Stellan Skarsgård
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.

Verdict
The movie is a rumination on a concept. It's a depiction of depression. Depression doesn't always have a cause or reason. This pairs those feelings with an impending doom, comparing how the characters behave in the face of a catastrophe. It's not a fun movie, and it isn't concerned about getting science right. That's not the point. This explores a difficult subject with amazing imagery and care. This could only be made by someone that's experienced those feelings, von Trier does an amazing job with this.
Watch it.

Review
Lars von Trier conceived of the idea during therapy when the therapist told him depressive people act calmer during intense situations due to already expecting bad things to happen.

The movie opens with images that create a mood. The shots are slow motion, artistic. They foreshadow what's to come.

Kirsten Dunst plays Justine.

The root of the story depicts Justine struggling with depression. This starts with Justine and her new husband trying to get a limousine up a narrow road to the wedding reception. She seems happy, but as the reception progresses we see uneasiness between everyone. She's depressed, and she doesn't need a reason. It could be one thing or the combination of her brother in law complaining about the wedding and demanding she be happy for the event (his gift), her sister telling her to play at being happy, her boss demanding she work on the wedding day, or the thin relationship she seems to have with her husband. As Justine describes it, she feels like she's trudging through gray yarn, the threads slowing her down. It's an image we saw in the introduction. All of these aspects of her life collide on this day, and she's constantly asked if she's happy. The movie is making the point that despite the event and the luxurious location, Justine isn't happy. It doesn't matter what people tell her or what happens. She's in despair. Her world is crashing, and later that's literally what happens when a planet collides with Earth. Her feelings manifest into a metaphor, hope slowly ebbs from the world, but that's already how Justine felt.

The planet that will collide with Earth.

As despair increases due to the catastrophic event, Justine seems to get better. She's handling the sense of despair well, but it's a feeling she already knows.  The dichotomy of the movie is how the main characters behaved before they knew the world was ending and after. Justine seems better, because the physical world now aligns with her mental state. Her sister always put on a face of happiness, but she no longer can, wrought with fear. Justine's brother in law focused on reason and facts. When those facts spell nothing but doom, he can't handle it. The only main character that handles the prospect of Earth's demise without having a breakdown is Justine.

This is less a movie and more of an exploration of a feeling. It's powerful even if it doesn't follow a traditional outline. This goes beyond, creating a feeling instead of just telling a story. I watched this thinking about people that don't understand depression, that question it. The movie doesn't have a character so blatant, but it still touches on those ideas. Depression just is.

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