Last nights FILM at the Erie Art Museum selection was the newest film from Lars Von Triers newest film; the provocatively entitled Nymphomaniac. I have a love/meh/hate relationship with Von Trier. Most of the time I think the director tries to be clever for the sake for simply the sake of being so, up until Anti-Christ, which was a lurid mess of a film. He fully redeemed himself with Melancholia. A gorgeous science fiction film that was more about character than setting. I was very apprehensive about Nymphomaniac, and for good reason. Von Triers existential crisis narrative uses metaphor for everything. This makes the film funnier than it should be, and wildly entertaining. But as the double entendres and similes begin to dry up, so does the film. The witty, wackiness of fly fishing and cat psychology is quickly forgotten as we settle in to fully examine the character at the heart of the film, who I found to be less thrilling and more aggravating. I understand that Von Trier is trying to peel away the story layer by layer, but Charlotte Gainsbourgs Joe is less interesting than her younger counterpart simply for there feels like there is no connection between them, other than Older Joe makes the claim to be the same person. Personally, I dont feel it. I also find Gainsbourgs acting style to be an eye irritant. She has this jut jaw way of speaking that is neither alluring nor evokes strength. She is the perfect match for Von Trier in this way, as neither of them seem to know how to deliver the story here. The story arc is only 1/2 way home, but I find my patience wearing thin. Nymphomaniac sells itself via the scintillation of exploitation, then reels us in with a compellingly interesting opening, but it begins to wear out its welcome towards the end as I begin to see more of the old Lars seeping through the edges. The final line of the film, I cant feel anything, pretty much sums up where I stand on this one too. Side bar: Uma Thurman steals the show. And WTF was up with the accents used in the film by people who dont have them?
Posted on: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 15:29:24 +0000
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