Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier's grim psychological disaster tale opens with the overture to Wagner's Tristan und Isolde accompanying a dreamlike prologue of extreme-slow-motion scenes of birds dropping out of the sky; a bride striding across a manicured lawn; a woman running across a darkened golf course, clutching a child; and a huge planet obliterating a smaller one. The first part of the film is a flashback revolving around Justine (Kirsten Dunst), a depressed copywriter about to marry handsome but clueless Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) at the lavish estate occupied by her anxious sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), whose wealthy husband, John (Kiefer Sutherland), pays the bills. Justine's father (John Hurt) is a drunken letch, while her misanthropic mother (Charlotte Rampling) curses the institution of marriage. Justine's boss (Stellan Skarsgård) needs an ad campaign tagline and he assigns an underling (Brady Corbet) to follow Justine around all evening, creating angst and ultimately hysteria. The second part focuses on a wayward planet, Melancholia, which is hurtling toward Earth. Looking through his telescope, John declares it will be a harmless “fly by,” but others are not so sure, particularly Claire, who believes doomsday is imminent. In many respects, this bizarre, nihilistic meditation is a pretentious bore, continuing von Trier's gloomy cinematic exploration of the suffering of women (Breaking the Waves, Dogville, and Dancer in the Dark). Yet the magnificent, ethereal visuals/special effects are haunting, making this a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (12 min.), production featurettes on “The Visual Style” (10 min.) and “Visual Effects” (7 min.), “The Universe” on the science behind the film (5 min.), an HDNet-produced featurette (5 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a characteristically love it/hate it Von Trier film.] (S. Granger)
Check out more films that explore mental health