Melancholia

UK Release Date. 30 September 2011
Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 15 mins
Director. Lars von Trier
Cast. Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, John Hurt, Charlotte Rampling, Alexander Skarsgård, Stellan Skarsgård, Kiefer Sutherland.
Rating. 56%

Review.

Cinema has always struggled with accurately depicting mental health issues on screen. Mental illness has routinely been portrayed in a way that is either stigmatising or exploitative. Most reprehensibly perhaps, mental illness is frequently used as a catalyst for violence, for example, in Psycho, The Shining or Joker. But amid all these inaccurate portrayals, a few inevitably stand out - films such as Ordinary People, Jacob's Ladder, Silver Linings Playbook, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and Synecdoche, New York immediately spring to mind. However, arguably no film has been more profoundly compassionate in depicting an escalating mental crisis than Lars von Trier's Melancholia.

Melancholia is the second instalment in von Trier's Depression Trilogy - Antichrist, Melancholia and Nymphomanic. Through these three films, von Trier explores manifestations of his own experience of grief and depression using female alter-egos. In the case of Melancholia, the film centres on Justine, played by Kirsten Dunst.

Melancholia is a film told in two chapters - entitled Justine and Claire - named after the two sisters whose already strained relationship is further challenged as a mysterious new planet, the titular Melancholia, threatens to collide with Earth.

The first chapter features the lavish wedding of Justine and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) set in the grandiose estate of her wealthy brother-in-law, John (Kiefer Sutherland) and her maternal, older sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Justine and Michael are clearly mismatched, though von Trier never allows this to become a quick and easy revelation. The protracted reception, shot in Dogme 95 style on handheld digital video, is a frustrating and unsympathetic exposition of Justine's inability to function.

The second chapter, Claire, leaps ahead some months. Justine, who has now come to stay with Claire, John and their young son, Leo (Cameron Spurr), has sunk into an even deeper depression, barely able to get out of bed and bathe without her sister's help. 

Kirsten Dunst, easily delivers a career-best performance by boldly stepping into a role that required Dunst to inhabit her character's deep, paralysing depression. A tour de force portrayal, as physical as it is emotional, rightly received the Best Actress prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Dunst's masterful control of the performance is most evident when we transition into Chapter 2, Claire. Here Charlotte Gainsbourg's life-affirming character suddenly becomes gripped by a fear of the planet Melancholia. At the same time, Dunst's Justine adopts a sort of joy-filled surrender that seems to echo that of a suicidal individual once the final decision is made. Dunst transitions from nearly catatonic to serene, a very subtle yet powerful shift. 

What makes Melancholia unusual for a film that is centrally about depression and despair is the film's visual splendour. The prologue is a series of shots so slowed down that they almost appear to be stills or paintings, including a striking homage to Sir John Everett Millais' Ophelia - a captivating vision of Justine in her wedding dress floating in a stream.

The manner in which von Trier chooses to depict the end of the world involves people witnessing strange light and weather phenomena that seem to indicate the imminent apocalypse. As the planet approaches Earth, in the face of utter, inextricable doom, you increasingly feel the impending terror, especially from Claire. 

In the 10 years since Melancholia was released, the conversation around mental illness has significantly moved on, with more individuals comfortable sharing personal experiences in the hope of destigmatising and educating. Yet the power of Melancholia remains stronger than ever. What rings particularly true about von Trier's portrayal is the manner in which he drops the audience into Justine's depression with no exposition or backstory or an attempt to make sense of her state of mind.

A deeply personal and monumentally ambitious film. There is something overwhelmingly powerful in watching Melancholia. But it is far from an enjoyable experience.