Review: Antichrist

Antichrist

Directed by Lars von Trier

Screenplay by Lars von Trier

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg

Runtime: 104 minutes

Plot Synopsis: He (Dafoe) and She (Gainsbourg) are going at it like animals when their son falls out of a window and dies. She goes ape. He, being a therapist and all, tries to fix her, but all she wants to do is have awkward sex. He takes her to a cabin in the woods (they refer to the area as Eden… no, really) and implements an unhealthy dose of exposure therapy, which makes everyone completely lose their shit.

After the film’s release, von Trier notoriously referred to himself as “the biggest filmmaker in the world.” No doubt he actually believes this to be true. Unfortunately for him, he made the statement while releasing a film that won a special award at Cannes for being the “most misogynistic film ever made.” It’s not surprising, considering the film is all about how women are evil and like to put their sons’ boots on the wrong feet and then watch them fall out of windows while Willem Dafoe makes them climax. Then, after they inevitably go nuts because of the guilt, they partake in some genital mutilation while a bunch of crazy animals (a doe with a stillborn baby hanging from its womb, a crow who pecks at  Willem Dafoe’s face, and a fox who disembowels himself; they are referred to as “the three beggars”) run around the forest causing all sorts of shenanigans. That’s right, women kill baby deer and make foxes disembowel themselves. Just ask Lars von Trier.

Even if one is not bothered by lead-heavy symbolism, misogyny, and exploitative violence, the painstakingly dull path the film takes to get to the crazy is itself something by which to be offended. Von Trier utilizes several techniques to make sure viewers realize just how artsy Antichrist is, including excessive jump-cuts, intense shallow focus, and wavy imagery. Rather than add the texture and depth von Trier intended, these techniques make the film appear as though it were made by a student, and not a particularly talented one. The one bright spot is (ironically) Gainsbourg, who powerfully portrays a grieving mother drowning in guilt and regret. This, of course, is before her role is relegated to that of a sex-crazed monster.

There is an art to making these types of films; those films which, rather than following a traditional narrative, strive to express something bold and profound through ambiguity and madness. David Lynch is a master of the genre. Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York, released in 2008, is among the best films of decade. But when a filmmaker is unable to express their supposed discovered truth, and instead rely on meaningless, self-important dribble to woo pretentious moviegoers, films like Antichrist inevitably surface.

Grade: D-