Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Antichrist (2009)




3 rusty scissors out of 5

HOLY SHIT. This movie made me cringe and scream so much that I couldn`t even watch it on my television. A full screen experience with surround sound would have overwhelmed my previously-believed-to-be-strong-but-now-fragile senses. If you watched this movie in the theatre, you should receive a Purple Heart. I had to watch the entire movie in front of my computer with my mouse poised over the VLC scrubber. So I`m going to start out by saying that I did watch this movie in its entirety, albeit a sped-up and somewhat censored version.

If you`ve ever thought that Willem Dafoe was generally odd looking man, your thoughts will be affirmed again and again in this movie by Lars von Trier. I`ve always been and still am impressed with Dafoe`s work in movies. But I`ve always been creeped out as well. However, in my humble opinion as a performer, I think that eliciting such a strong emotion (skeevicity) from an audience is quite a feat. So, big urban props to Willem. However, I just couldn`t handle the level of skeevicity that was portrayed in this movie. Nor could I handle the amount of screen time his naked body was awarded in this film. I believe that he and his movie-wife, Charolette Gainsbourg, copulated at least 8 times in the span of 108 minutes. And each time, it was this epic event of close up genital shots, unattractively straining back muscles and usually ended in gore, violence or unbridled rage. Seriously, within the first 3 minutes of the movie, you`re shot in the face with a full screen shot of shower penetration. No condom, no blur, no artistic avoidance of genitalia; just full-on, hardcore shower fucking. It`s a very intriguing mix of disgusting violence and in your face eroticism that allows this movie to make you feel turned on and nauseous at the same time. This movie is not recommended for the following groups of people: Catholics, Jews, Republicans, Americans not residing within a coastal state, victims of sexual assault, prudes, parents and (spoiler) people who don`t like vaginal mutilation or blood-cum.

Having gotten that out of the way, this is a beautifully made movie. If only the contents weren`t so shocking and overwhelming, I really would`ve enjoyed it a lot more. The music is very moving, the shots artfully composed and the slow-motion that`s captured is so detailed and rich. It`s definitely not the work of a B-movie team that just wants to shock their audience. It`s more like the experimental work of an experienced artist who is well versed in how to exquisitely portray the most haunting of images in a way that`s somewhat stomachable.

Do not, under any circumstances, see this movie with your girlfriend unless she`s super cool and well adjusted and has seen something that could train her for this like Deliverance or Requiem for a Dream. This is definitely a 400 level senior seminar in the realm of shocking movies. So the least one can do before watching it is take the 101 introductory course.

- B

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