1) Full disclosure: This movie is insanely depressing. It's kind of like "Zookeeper" only the EXACT opposite. It revolves around a suicidal girl and a planet plummeting into earth. You will know from the first minutes of the film that it is not going to end well. Accept that, and move on.
2) I do not endorse Lars Von Trier's racist/horrifying/creepy remarks (as made at the Cannes Film Festival. Google it.). But the man is a visionary. Possibly a fruit loop in need of some vitamin D, but he manages to walk the line between indie/artsy & commercial/watchable. A tough balance.
3) I like Kirsten Dunst. I can't help it. She had me at "Jumanji", "Bring it On", and "Crazy/Beautiful". Yes, she's damaged AND drawn to weird indie rocker guys AND ill-fitting thrift duds, but much like my obsession with Chloe Sevigny, if we had gone to the same high school, I would have wanted her to like me (to be clear, she would not have).
4) The supporting cast is filled with people you should know, but you won't know why (except for Aleksander Skarsgard & Kiefer Sutherland). To be clear, this is a good thing. Their performances (especially Charlotte Rampling and Charlotte Gainsbourg) are brilliant. While the camera follows Kirsten wherever she goes, the rest of the cast sucks you in just as affectively. Don't look for these folks to pop up in US Weekly anytime soon. Nylon or Paper, maybe.
5) This film is a perfect example of why sometimes you need to stick with it. The first 8 minutes are batshit. It's in slow motion. There are horses. Bright lights. Many slow, gratuitious shots of a practically comatose Kirsten Dunst. Classical music rising & falling at all the wrong moments. Yes, it serves a purpose (foreshadowing the film to come), but had I not been trapped on a plane while watching it, I may not have made it to the good stuff.
6) I'm still thinking about it. The almost painful, accurate depiction of a young woman's horrific battle with depression I've ever seen captured on film. I wanted to help her. I wanted to help her sister help her. There is a seen where Gainsbourg's Claire can't catch her breath. I actually found it difficult to breath, knowing what was happening to her. That's powerful stuff.
7) The juxtaposition of her lifeless life and the impending planet plummeting toward earth (no joke) could have easily been the stuff of Razzie infamy. But with this top notch crew, it makes perfect, devastating sense.
See it. Perhaps chase it with a viewing of "The Zookeeper"** to balance the emotions.
**I don't know why I keep referencing this movie as I've never seen it, but I assume it is stupid.
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