Critic At Large: Melancholia

Severe depression can be debilitating, but in Melancholia, it also serves as a mechanism for coping with the end of the world. The movie’s opening chapter introduces us to Justine (Kirsten Dunst) as she and her new husband arrive at their wedding reception. The reception, held at an opulent golf resort owned by her brother-in-law (Kiefer Sutherland, what are you doing here?), serves as the venue for Justine’s latest struggle with what the movies hints is a long history of clinical depression. Over the course of a stressful evening plagued by familial sniping, Justine’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic. It soon become apparent to both Justine and her husband that their marriage is over before it could even begin.

By the movie’s second half, Justine’s depression has become so crippling that she is forced to move in with her sister and brother-in-law. Meanwhile, a newly discovered rogue planet dubbed Melancholia is on a course that may or may not destroy the Earth.

Melancholia, like Lars Von Trier’s other movies, is not kind to its characters. The sumptuous visuals in the movie’s prelude serve as one of the loveliest spoilers in cinematic history, informing the audience that things will not turn out well. But that knowledge detracts nothing from Dunst’s luminous performance or the moments of sheer beauty that Von Trier sprinkles through the rest of the movie. Dunst plays Justine not as a hero or a victim, but simply as a woman whose depression rips away her capacity for self-delusion.

Melancholia is playing in theaters and can also be downloaded from Amazon and iTunes. It looked great on my LCD TV and I’ll be curious to see whether the additional revenue from downloads prompts other studios to experiment with simultaneous theatrical and digital releases.