'Melancholia'

'Melancholia' (R) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written and Directed By Lars von Trier
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgard, Kiefer Sutherland, Brady Corbet, John Hurt, Stellan Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling

I have never seen the impending End of the World depicted so serenely and as beautiful as it is depicted in "Melancholia". Writer and Director Lars von Trier is back at the top of his form after many years with this contemplative and haunting drama. This is a companion piece to the other amazing spiritual drama this year "The Tree of Life". You also have a realistic and powerful look at depression and a career best performance from Kirsten Dunst.

"Melancholis" starts out at the wedding of Justine and Michael in a rented mansion. The wedding is being paid for by Justine's sister Claire and her husband John. Justine is played by Kirsten Dunst who is an actress that keeps getting better and should make her mark here for greatness. Justine and Michael look very happy but at the wedding reception we learn all might not be well. Justine is going through deep bouts of depression and at the reception things go from bad to worse as she acts out her depression. Also as the wedding is going on a mysterious planet is about to run into the Earth.

Justine's sister Claire is estranged from Justine mostly because Claire is tired of how Justine is acting and not doing anything about her depression.
Claire is played by Charlotte Gainsbourg and I really think she is a great actress not many know of. The look of "Melancholia" is breathtaking with it's beauitful images of this planet that is on a crash course for Earth. This is the most beauitful movie I have ever seen dealing with armageddon.
Lars von Trier has always had a sure command of the camera and here he does his best work since 1996's "Breaking the Waves" which is one of my all time favorite movies.

Lars von Trier has become self indulgent since his 1996 masterpiece and hit rock bottom a few years back with his "Antichrist". That movie was self important and was written because von Trier was mad at the World and dealing with depression. The disgusting and unnecessary images in "Antichrist" even made me want to walk out of the theatre. This time von Trier deals with the subject of depression in a thoughtful and measured manner. The screenplay is well written and there is no self indulgence anywhere. We have seen many disaster movies dealing with the End of the World that want to scare us. This time it is dealt with in a beautiful and haunting way and meshes well with the story of Justine.

Kirsten Dunst gives her best performance of her career so far as Justine and it is a subtle, graceful and powerful performance. I love how the screenplay sees Justine as hopeless in the beginning but by the end she might be the bravest person out of everyone. There are good supporting performances by Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander and Stellan Skarsgard and John Hurt. Also good is Charlotte Rampling as Justine's mother and we can see how Justine got to be the way she is by how her mother is.

The images of "Melancholia" are beautiful and the story is thoughtful and keeps getting better as the plot unfolds. Lars von Trier has bounced back with a movie that I found moving if not transformed by. His "Breaking the Waves" was like a religious experience for me and I cried for hours after I saw it and I am not religious at all. Both "Waves" and "Melancholis" are what I call spiritual movies and they look at life in a sober way but they are both entertaining. "Melancholia" has been compared to this year's "Tree of Life" and I love both. I am partial to "Tree of Life" excluding it's first half and last half hour. "Melancholia" makes it's own statement and it is an unforgettable and beautiful movie with an unforgettable performance by Kirsten Dunst.

P.S. I am very proud of Kirsten Dunst and I look at her great performances in movies that I love. When Dunst was just a child she did an amazing job in 1994's "Little Women". I also loved her performance in the heartbreaking "Virgin Suicides". Now with "Melancholia" Dunst has grown up into an amazing actress.