‘The earth is evil. We don’t need to grieve for it...’
When considering the end of the world depicted on screen, the work of Roland Emmerich and Michael Bay is probably the first thing that comes to mind. Maverick director Lars von Trier unsurprisingly has a totally different take on the apocalypse. And it’s some of his best work…
Melancholia is the story of two sisters. The first part of the film is given over to Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and her wedding day. Justine, the personification of depression, marries Michael (Alexander Skarsgård), despite the fact that she is often distant from him. The wedding day itself is a disaster and this sends Justine spiralling into a deep, dark depression. The second half of the film concerns Justine’s anxiety-ridden sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and her increasing belief that a rogue planet heading toward Earth is going to kill everyone, despite the protestations of her awful husband, John (Kiefer Sutherlad), who is, instead, excited about the arrival of the planet (the fact that the planet, like the film, is named Melancholia should perhaps be a clue that all is not well).
While much of von Trier’s work is a joke at the audience’s expense (The House That Jack Built) or at least black comedy delivered with a provocative and knowing wink (The Idiots, Antichrist), Melancholia appears at least on the surface to be a sincere exploration of depression. The Danish director has suffered from depression himself in the past and he utilises Dunst wonderfully here to convey depression as an actual emotion and not just a series of symptoms. Dunst is spectacular. It’s a disgrace that she wasn’t Oscar-nominated (probably due to von Trier’s flirtation with claiming to be a Nazi in an infamous Q and A in Cannes). Her journey from manic hopefulness to self-sabotage to crushing despair and eventually acceptance will be familiar to anyone who has suffered from dark times and she convinces throughout no matter what stage of her depression she is conveying. Gainsbourg is also excellent, and the scenes in which both actors appear together pop off the screen.
Melancholia was praised upon released but its stock has only risen in the years since its release. Along with Dogville, it’s von Trier’s most accomplished work – just don’t expect a barrel of laughs.
