I had known about this film for ten years or so, mainly because of the leading actress, I didn't know anything about the plot, I was interested because it had good names in the cast and positive reviews, and because it is directed by Lars von Trier (Breaking the Waves, Antichrist, Nymphomaniac). Basically, it opens with a dream sequence of slow-motion shots, featuring the main characters, a collapsing horse, falling birds, the solar system, and the Earth colliding with a rogue planet. It is the dream of Justine (Kirsten Dunst); it is her wedding day to husband Michael (Alexander Skarsgård), they were married in a castle owned by her brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland) and her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg). They are driving uphill in a limousine which cannot get round a narrow corner on a rural road. Justin and Michael are two hours late for the reception at the large family estate. Upon arrival, Justine notices a large unknown bright star in the sky. John is an astronomy enthusiast and says that the star is Antares. The festivities are less than harmonious. Justine's parents Gaby (Charlotte Rampling) and Dexter (John Hurt) are divorced and verbally abuse each other in front of everybody. Dexter is self-indulgent and selfish which means he cannot connect emotionally with his daughters, and Gaby is shrewd, brutal, ruthless, and pathologically honest, which eventually leads to her being thrown out. Claire is controlling towards her sister and John wants to stick with the wedding schedule. Claire and John are constantly annoyed as Justine keeps wandering off with no explanation. On one occasion, before the crucial cake-cutting, Justine escapes to have a bath to cleanse herself of the chaos. Later, she wanders off to the nearby golf course, she urinates at the 18th hole and watches the unknown bright star approaching closer. Justine's advertising firm employer Jack (Stellan Skarsgård) has been invited, he announces her promotion to art director, and he reminds her during the celebration that she is expected to write a slogan for a new campaign. The pressure of this promotion and the negativity surrounding what should be a happy occasion become too much for Justine. She has been suffering from depression for a long time but has tried to suppress it. She falls back into her depression by the end which goes on until the early hours of the morning. Eventually, she snaps, having an argument with Jack after which quits her job. Justine's boss's nephew Tim (Brady Corbet) gets closer to her, Justine cannot bring herself to consummate the marriage with her gormless husband, and she and Tim have sex in a sand trap on the golf course. After cheating on him, Justine calls off her marriage to Michael and he leaves the venue. After sunrise the next morning, Justine reluctantly goes horseback riding with Claire. Justine notices that the bright star has disappeared from the sky. Sometime later, Justine has sunk even further into depression. She arrives at John and Claire's estate and struggles to leave her bed or to eat anything. The bright star disappearing is revealed to be due to a rogue planet, "Melancholia", which came from behind the Sun and eclipsed the missing star. John has been reading the calculations of scientists, he says Melancholia will get close to Earth but will not collide with it. Claire looks at Melancholia's path on the internet, she is anxious reading that there is a theory that, having bypassed the Earth, it will turn back and collide with it. John tries to calm her down but secretly secures food and gasoline. With the threat of an approaching planet, Claire increasingly loses her composure. But Justine welcomes the end of the world and "sunbathes" naked in the glow of the oncoming planet. Strange omens occur in the days that follow. Electricity at the castle cuts out, the butler does not come to work, the horses in the stable are restless, and the weather changes erratically, including several electrical storms. Melancholia initially flies past Earth, seemingly vindicating what John said. However, a gravitational interaction between the planets sends Melancholia across Earth's orbit for a second time, now moving on a path towards it. After finding out the planet is doomed, John kills himself by overdosing on pills. Claire finds him dead but hides it from the family and tries to drive away with her son Leo (Cameron Spurr), but the cars will not start. Justine declines to spend her final moments with Claire on the terrace by candlelight and wine. Instead, Justine calms Leo down by suggesting that they build a "magic cave" out of branches. Justine, Claire, and Leo sit under the "cave" and hold hands as Melancholia is close to collision. While Justine and Leo are either apathetic or at peace with their impending doom, Claire panics and succumbs to despair, sobbing inconsolably. Melancholia finally collides with Earth, both planets shatter against each other and the trio are engulfed in a sea of flames. Also starring Jesper Christensen as Little Father, Udo Kier as Wedding Planner, James Cagnard as Michael's Father, Deborah Fronko as Michael's Mother, and Gary Whitaker as Limo Driver. Dunst, Gainsbourg, Sutherland, and Rampling are among the most memorable in the all-star cast, Danish auteur von Trier is well known for making films with unusual themes and events, and this one is no different. The bad events during the wedding ceremonies are a metaphor for the upcoming destruction, the opening dream sequence is unforgettably strange, it has vibrant imagery and artistry, and it is an interesting alternative disaster movie, it is likely to divide opinion, but I thought it was a worthwhile apocalyptic psychological drama. Very good!
Review of Melancholia
