Release Date – 11/11/2011 (limited)
Justine and Michael are having a big lavish wedding at a castle located on a prestigious golf course. Justine’s sister Claire and her husband John have taken care of most of the expenses and are trying to make Justine happy. This is because Justine suffers from severe depression and has mood swings ranging from happiness and excitement to sadness and just not caring about anyone or anything. Everyone tries to deal with her problems and get her through the special day. Sometime after the wedding, a rogue planet named Melancholia is set to fly-by Earth, coming very close. Claire believes this will be the end of the world when the planets collide but John, being very involved in astronomy, is excited and optimistic that they will be OK. Such an odd movie but very well done. Even though there’s the theme of impending doom, it’s more about the characters. The planet flying into Earth is somehow secondary when compared to this dysfunctional family.
Kirsten Dunst really shows a side of her that I have never seen before. She’s pretty terrific in this film. She plays the depressed Justine, ranging in emotions over the course of the movie. The first half has her as the central character and is even titled Part 1: Justine. Her wedding is really a magnificent setting that cost her brother in law a lot of money, but she still doesn’t care. She only has brief moments of happiness. Her husband Michael, played by Alexander Skarsgard, tries his best to get her through the day but fails at every turn. Part 2 of the film is entitled Claire and deals with Justine’s sister. Although most characters appear in both parts of the film, they each focus on a different MAIN character. Charlotte Gainsbourg plays Claire. It’s now some time after Justine’s wedding and she has to take care of her ill sister. Justine can no longer take care of herself and has a hard time eating and even bathing. Those brief glimpses of happiness are totally gone. Meanwhile, Claire has to deal with thoughts that the world is going to end when a rogue planet appears in the Earth’s galaxy, narrowly passing by all other planets. Her husband John, played by Kiefer Sutherland, is an astronomy whiz and guarantees that they will be OK. He constantly studies the situation and gets a real excitement out of it.
The opening of the film is a dream-like sequence where it seems like the world is ending. I believe we were supposed to think this is Justine’s dream and it’s causing some of her depression. She mentions later in the film that she has seen the end of the world in a dream and is ready for it. Director Lars von Trier is known for controversial films, especially his last one Antichrist. Melancholia is more mainstream for him. Taking a family with a ton of problems and setting it against the backdrop of a possible Judgment Day. But we are more interested in the family than the rogue planet. Von Trier also wrote the story so I’ll give him props there on knowing what he wanted to focus on. It’s a little long winded at times when you just want it to get to the point, but its pretty well done in the end. Great performances by all, especially Dunst and Gainsbourg. Those that were turned off by the director with violent sexual scenes in his previous films can rest assured. Although we get a nice amount of Kirsten Dunst nudity, no violence is involved. Von Trier is such an odd filmmaker that it makes me curious to always see what he does next.
IMDB – 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 79%
Movie Wiseguys – 7.5/10