©2009 Zentropa Entertainments23 ApS, Zentropa International Köln GmbH, Slot Machine Sarl, Liberator Productions Sarl, Arte France Cinéma, Memfis Film International AB, Trollhättan Film AB, Lucky Red SRL.
Throughout much of human history, the forest has always been considered a place of danger and foreboding and in Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist,” fear of the forest takes on a whole new level of anxiety and shock.
While He (Willem Dafoe) and She (Charlotte Gainsbourg) are having sex, their young child falls from a window to his death in agonizing slow motion all the while Handel’s “Lascia ch’io pianga” plays in the background.
He, who happens to be a psychotherapist, agrees to council his grief-stricken wife with the caveat that they move to Eden, their cabin in the woods.
At first, a gaunt and perpetually bony She substitutes sex for grief throughout much of “Antichrist” but as they both discover, sex is never the antidote for grief especially when it comes to losing a child.
Acorns and trees become objects of dread as do the sounds of the forests which become more and more horrific as She spirals into a deeply imbedded madness.
A constant droning sound similar to that in David Lynch’s “Eraserhead” becomes synonymous with dread.
In one scene, a more sinister version of Mr. Fox from “Fantastic Mr. Fox” tells He that “chaos reigns” which is true in most Von Trier films but so what?
Later, HE reads She’s diary with its incomprehensible writings peppered with motifs suggesting witchcraft and a complete devolution which opens a window into the ravings of a lunatic.
As proof, She asks He to “hit her until it hurts” but when He hesitates at first, She exclaims that “You don’t love me.”
More “Eraserhead”-like music provides the eerie backdrop to fornication in the woods and in a woodshed where She (in a fit of rage) makes a failed attempt at copulation with her husband.
©2009 Zentropa Entertainments23 ApS, Zentropa International Köln GmbH, Slot Machine Sarl, Liberator Productions Sarl, Arte France Cinéma, Memfis Film International AB, Trollhättan Film AB, Lucky Red SRL.
Instead of moving on like most normal couples, She clobbers He in the groin with a piece of split wood rendering him unconscious.
In a “Misery”-esque moment, She takes an antique wood drill, pops a nice hole in He’s leg and immobilizes him by attaching a heavy weight to the leg.
“Antichrist” seems to give new meaning to the phrase: Hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn.
After regaining consciousness, He attempts an escape by crawling through the forest where he fights off a raven that wants to make a meal of his leg.
At this point, one almost hopes a giant tree limb would fall on He, She and the entire Von Trier production crew such is the sense of intense, ultra-violent psychosis in this film.
The biggest mistake here is not moving out to the country cabin to heal but He’s insistence on acting as his wife’s psychotherapist which comes into alarmingly sharp focus as She plods through the woods screaming “Where are you, you bastard?”
The level of pain and suffering in this film are on such a massive scale as to almost render this film comical and beyond hyperbole such that the hyper-violence in “Misery” and “A Clockwork Orange” come to mind as being almost sophomoric.
Despite the morbid subject matter and depressing montage and script, “Antichrist” draws the viewer into a kind of morbidly weeping vortex reminiscent of a diabolical peep show.
She’s actions toward the climax of “Antichrist” are clearly meant to precipitate a type of suicide-by-cop action by her husband.
The climax itself is beyond watchable except in some countries where self-mutilation is still acceptable (spoiler alert).
Gainsbourg, as Von Trier’s bony yet electrifying muse, is as usual intelligent and dynamic in her believable depiction of a broken woman who slides into madness following a tragic loss.
Dafoe too is great in a performance that rates him high as the quintessential actor’s actor.
“Antichrist” is dedicated to the Russian director Andre Tarkovsky who may have agreed with the notion that if there is any redeeming message to be gained from this film, it’s that the ugly side of human nature has its place among all forms of human artistic endeavor including cinema, but that doesn’t mean that the ideology of art for art’s sake is for everyone.
It’s not a stretch to say that “Antichrist” may be perceived as being completely inaccessible to all but the biggest Von Trier fans but it’s also a film that the viewer can’t help but watch simply out of curiosity much as motorists slow down to view a horrific automobile accident.
Still, based on Von Trier’s catalog of films to date, I’m sure that he would be okay with that assessment.—-Steve Santiago
4th Dimension Films 