The ending to Melancholia touched me deep down inside. I can not say this about many films. One of my biggest fears in life is thrown on the screen and truly left me in my seat with my heart pounding. What if a large celestial object were to collide with our planet completely ending all life as we know it? This is the question Lars film both asks and answers.
The film begins with the end. The entire film I fought with why Lars chose to show most of the film's major moments at the start of the film. Throughout I continued to tell myself that the film would have been better had Lars started the film in a different manner, keeping the ending a secret. But when the ending struck I understood why the film was structured the way it was.If the film would have ended with the Extreme Wide Shot of the planets colliding, then the moment that transpires on Earth would have lost its significant impact, no pun intended. However starting the film in the manner Lars does, the mood of the film is automatically set in place.
Melancholia is broken up into two parts. The first part follows Justine at her wedding day. The second part follows Claire, Justine's sister, as she deals with the aftermath of the wedding. Initially I did not understand the need to split the film in two as the parts could have flowed one right after the other with a simple fade to black, with no need of a title card. However I noticed that the film's title played a role in the splitting of the film in two.
"Part One: Justine" is about Justine's state of melancholia. The film opens with what should be one of the happiest days of her life, however this is not the case. She obviously is in a state of deep depression, however it is unclear as to why she is in the state that she is. Later in the evening, it is implied that by Justine's mother that her family can see the future. If this is the case, it would make her state make sense as she knows the ultimate fate of the planet. Kirsten Dunst who plays Justine does an amazing job portraying someone who is truly as depressed as her character is supposed to be. Essentially her character is what holds the film together for the first half. It is possibly her best role to date. It is said that Lars had the idea for this film after he was in a state of major depression. He is said to have noticed that when you are truly down, you are able to remain calm even in the most chaotic of circumstances. If this is true then Justine truly embodies this theory.
"Part Two: Claire" follows Justine's sister, Claire. However "Part Two" is more about the planet Melancholia. It is revealed to the audience that a great celestial event is about to occur relatively soon. A planet that has been long hypothesized to be on the opposite side of the sun has finally revealed itself to exist. The rogue planet's orbit is expected to overlap with our own planet's. However the worlds leading scientists project that it will fly right by, despite many amateurs who project that the planet will in fact collide with our own. Jack Bauer, or Kiefer Sutherland as people usually refer to him as, plays Claire's husband John. John is an astronomer and is one of the individuals who believes Melancholia will fly by Earth.
As I said before the films final moments truly moved me. Not because I cared about the characters but I cared about the event. I will discuss the ending further in another blog post, as I do not wish to completely spoil the ending. The film has shots of true beauty. While I could have done with less shaky cam and having the camera go in and out of focus, I still thought everything was truly outstanding. One more thing I need to mention, the film has an amazing supporting cast which help move the film along at a steady pace.
4/4 Muffins
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