Antichrist Review [2]
Posted by Joseph Lee on 10.25.2009
The scariest part about this? You see Willem Dafoe naked...a lot.
Starring:
*Willem Dafoe as He
*Charlotte Gainsbourg as She
Story: After their infant son dies while they're having sex, a married couple go to a secluded area in the woods to heal. While there they encounter something truly horrific in each other.
Trivia: A video game based on the movie has been announced by the movie's production company Zentropa. The game "Eden" would supposedly be a continuation of the story.
For some time now, the word about Lars von Trier's Antichrist has been spreading. It hasn't been good. While not really remarking on the quality of the film, controversy was abound for the film's many scenes of graphic, sexual violence that stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg commit on each other. The movie was so controversial that it was even given a special "anti-award" at Cannes for being "misogynistic". The movie itself has divided critics: there are those who find it disgusting and those who see it as a bold achievement in film-making. The real question is, what would the average person think about it? Is this something that someone outside of the arthouse crowd will want to see, or even enjoy?
I had to mull over my thoughts for a while after watching this film. I wasn't quite sure if it was a movie I loved or hated. Let's be honest here: this movie is getting those polarizing reactions for a reason. I don't think that there is any middle ground on this. You're either going to be completely disgusted by this movie and hate it, or you are going to love it for having the guts to do what it does. It all comes down to your views regarding film and what should be allowed in one. Some, like fans of the Saw films, may be so desensitized to violence that this film will not shock them (I think it will). I think the key here is to look past the violence and focus on the story.
After digesting this film a bit longer, I've finally come to the conclusion that yes, it's a good movie. This comes with a caveat, or a warning: there are some incredibly graphic scenes of violence to the sexual organs. You've probably already heard about this outside of this review and you might even know exactly what happens. I was spoiled on that before watching but it still managed to take me by surprise. It's not cut-away or suggested either. You see what is happening. The reason I mention this again is that if you're on the fence about seeing this movie, you should know exactly what you're getting yourself into. If graphic sexual violence isn't what you want to see in a film, then consider the rating a zero and move on.
If you look past the violence, or at least stomach it, then you'll see a very engrossing story. A couple is busy having sex and their son climbs out of a window and dies. They are both grief-stricken, especially the woman who feels guilty. He (played by Willem Dafoe) decides instead of letting her grieve and get through it like a normal person, he will detach himself as a husband and use psychotherapy to treat her. This already tells you he's not much of a therapist, but not that caring of a husband. Personally, I think he was trying to treat her as a way of getting over his own grief. It's open to interpretation.
She (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg) is so grief-stricken and anxiety ridden that she seems to be afraid of everything. When they go to Eden, the area of woods with a cabin that they've visited previously, she doesn't even seem to want to step on the grass. For some reason, she's terrified of this area. As we soon come to find out, it's a big source of her guilt and what is wrong with her. She has been unstable for a while, it seems, and the death of her son combined with the psychobabble from He will only send her spiraling into madness. That's where the movie picks up with the violence, is when she finally snaps. But to say anything else would give it away, and I'm trying very hard not to get into specifics about the story or the violence that occurs.
The story is decent. This film is obviously a very personal one for von Trier, and he uses it to explore his own beliefs on grief, pain and despair (incidentally, three of the four chapters in the film). This is a very convincing character study on what these people go through after the loss of their son. He gets over it naturally and She lets the negative emotions consume her, as she feels She is to blame. Lars von Trier has the guts to tell this story as he sees fit. Even without the violence he uses some different means to do so: there will be bizarre cuts, odd dream sequences and surreal moments that pop in occasionally. The cabin sits under an oak tree where acorns fall against the roof during the night. As the tension builds, it seems the acorns fall harder and more frequently. Just one of the many ways the story is told.
That's what I like about this movie: the presentation. The direction, the surreal moments, the acting, all of it. I should commend the acting from Dafoe and Gainsbourg. It's astounding. The two are real troopers for going through with this and doing what is asked of them. I imagine not everyone would be as susceptible to doing what these two do in the film. The story, direction and acting all make for a very engrossing drama for the first two acts of the film. Because of this, the horror that occurs later didn't effect my judgment of the film, it merely added to it.
One final note before I wrap this up. Earlier in the year I viewed the film Downloading Nancy and decried it for it's scenes of torture and unlikable characters. It's odd, then, that I would praise a film like Antichrist which features incredibly graphic scenes of torture and unlikable characters. The difference between the two is that Antichrist has a point to make with what it shows. The material is handled not in a misogynistic manner as Cannes would have described it (or as it was in Downloading Nancy). There is a method to the madness here and it's actually handled competently, something the other film wasn't able to do. That's why this is a great film and the other is exploitative garbage. Go see this, but only if you can handle what it has to offer.
The 411: Antichrist is an arthouse film on the complexities of human nature and how certain events could drive someone to go over the edge. The violence is unnecessarily graphic, but at least it has a point. This movie shows a woman that was previously unstable go over the edge and take her husband with her. What appears to be a very personal film from Lars von Trier is also an engrossing tale that shouldn't be missed. Only if you can't stand gore should you avoid this. Otherwise, go see it.
