Melancholia

Well, there isn’t a lot to say about this film that won’t reveal the twisted plot and give away the few treasures that will keep you from walking out before its finished. This is two plus hours of skin crawling tension that gnaws away at your patience like a distant fly buzzing around your head that you can’t seem to swat away.

The double meaning of Melancholia – both the planet approaching earth – threatening it’s future, and the encroaching mental condition and its almost certain next victim are the parallel stories that director Lars Von Trier has expertly crafted.

We were all spellbound by the opening scenes – almost like art coming to life before your eyes. The cinematography is fantastic and continues through the whole film. The colors and the crisp HD images will stick with you long after you give up in exasperation trying to follow the story. The music is memorable as well.

Kirsten Dunst is convincing as Justine, a sister stricken with clinical depression. The story opens on her wedding day and we watch – as our collective blood pressure soars, as she stumbles through the emotionally daunting task.

Charlotte Gainsbourg plays the other sister, Claire who is a ticking time bomb, fending off the signs that she, too, is destined for a life paralyzed by the emotional illness that has all but taken down the family. It seems to be a hereditary illness, we surmise, after Von Trier introduces us to the parents – each profoundly affected by their own forms of mental and emotional disorders.

Keifer Sutherland plays Claire’s husband, John – the only objective and sane one in the bunch. He can see what’s happening here – he has had to step in and help Claire’s sister before. He has had to stand in the background as she takes center stage to his wife’s attention. He knows it is only a matter of time until Justine is stricken with the same illness.

One would think that was enough to be the major story line, but it isn’t. The parallel story that takes center stage is that of newly discovered planet Melancholia which scientists are watching on its orbital path near earth. Most experts doubt that it will hit and obliterate our planet – but of course there are some that think it may. Tension mounts as John checks updates daily on the planet’s orbit, stocks the stables with emergency supplies, and stares frequently through his telescope to check it’s path.

So, as Melancholia (also defined as a mental condition characterized by extreme sadness) approaches – each character hunkers down in a different way for what could be the total obliteration of their lives – forever.