Review of Melancholia (2011) by Anne P — 18 Dec 2012

I can only imagine that this film will find it tough to engage with certain portions of the film going public. And this could be for a number of reasons. First, it is incredibly bleak and depressing. Given that it is a film about depression set against a stark vision of an impending apocalypse, I suppose this should not necessarily come as a surprise. But the sheer level of doom and gloom the pervades the two storylines (known as part 1 and part 2) arguably demands a lot from the viewer. And where the film leaves you in the end is even tougher to handle. The two storylines essentially intertwine as a very defeatist and fatalistic view of life from the perspective of a doomed marriage and a doomed planet (or existence).

The other element that might viewers might struggle with is the pacing. Given the weighty imagery and material, the film is not inclined to move through the melancholy with any sort of purpose and hurry. Rather, it lets it settle and fester as it takes the journey towards the end of the world.

The film certainly is a marvelous experimentation, and the imagery and photography is quite stunning. The characters in a living breathing movement of pictures, and even then, Dunst gives what should be the performance of her career. The real star of the show though is the melancholy, and it should be considered that the sheer level of depressive emotion that this film evokes may make it a questionable, and even unforgiving, view for many. But for those who are up to the task, it remains an intriguing experimentation all the same.