If you witnessed the trailer for Nymphomaniac (which was removed from Youtube because it was graphic), you're probably assuming that it's a weird sex-fest. If that is what you're thinking, then you aren't far off. But that is what I've learned to expect from director Lars von Trier: weird sex. And if you're into strange sex, then you're in luck: Von Trier gives over four hours of it.
Von Trier is a strange man. A few years ago, he was treated for mental illness. When he came out, he made a film called Antichrist, which is about, you guessed it, mental illness. In fact, his past few films have focused on the topic. Nymphomaniac Vol. I (Vol. II is out in April) joins Antichrist and Melancholia as a part of his depression trilogy. Is it as good as those two? Not quite, but I think Vol. II will be.
Vol. I opens with a woman named Joe (Charlotte Gainsborg, a von Trier regular who truly deserved some credit for Melancholia), lying on the ground, beaten, in an alley. She is found by a man named Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard), who takes her in and nurses her back to good health. Soon, Joe begins explaining how exactly she ended up where she ended up. She tells of her sexual experiences, and tells just how she came to be. The stories are told through flashbacks, and the young Joe is played by newcomer Stacy Martin.
The rest of the cast includes Shia Lebeouf (before he went bonkers) as the man who took her virginity. Christian Slater stars as Joe's father. Now the best performance here, and it is a brief one, is Uma Thurman. Thurman plays the wife of a man that Joe sleeps with. Thurman is only on screen for about seven minutes, but it it easily the best seven minutes of the movie. I wanted an encore.
Now, judging from the trailer, you expect this movie to be a sex fest. While it is so, that doesn't exactly mean it's sexy sex. That's actually something that I admire about the film. Some of it is sexy, but a lot of it is off-putting. From Joe's perspective, sex is something that she simply just can't stop doing. An actual addiction, and in some ways, a chore. Von Trier could've made it sexy, but instead he takes it in another direction. I like that, mainly because I never really bought sex addiction as a real addiction.
Nymphomaniac Vol. I is constantly entertaining, but it is isn't the great movie that Melancholia was. It has great moments, and then dull ones. I am mainly referring to the scenes between Joe and Seligman. I realize that these scenes are used a narrative tool, but does Skarsgard have to constantly keep referring back to fishing? Also, if Joe knows she's a bad person beyond saving, why should we care? I don't know. Vol. I is a good movie, but it's an incomplete one. I can't give the final verdict until Vol.II. Vol. I is a strange journey, but it's a fascinating one. Count me in.
B+
*Note: I have seen Vol. II and I wrote a review on it, but it wasn't posted... for some reason. Vol. II is better, but it falls apart in the last fifteen minutes. I say that Vol. II is better, but yet I give them both the same rating. Does that make sense? I don't know, but judging from the amount of people that found this review useful, I don't think anyone really cares.
Nymphomaniac Vol. II:B+, overall rating: B+
Von Trier is a strange man. A few years ago, he was treated for mental illness. When he came out, he made a film called Antichrist, which is about, you guessed it, mental illness. In fact, his past few films have focused on the topic. Nymphomaniac Vol. I (Vol. II is out in April) joins Antichrist and Melancholia as a part of his depression trilogy. Is it as good as those two? Not quite, but I think Vol. II will be.
Vol. I opens with a woman named Joe (Charlotte Gainsborg, a von Trier regular who truly deserved some credit for Melancholia), lying on the ground, beaten, in an alley. She is found by a man named Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard), who takes her in and nurses her back to good health. Soon, Joe begins explaining how exactly she ended up where she ended up. She tells of her sexual experiences, and tells just how she came to be. The stories are told through flashbacks, and the young Joe is played by newcomer Stacy Martin.
The rest of the cast includes Shia Lebeouf (before he went bonkers) as the man who took her virginity. Christian Slater stars as Joe's father. Now the best performance here, and it is a brief one, is Uma Thurman. Thurman plays the wife of a man that Joe sleeps with. Thurman is only on screen for about seven minutes, but it it easily the best seven minutes of the movie. I wanted an encore.
Now, judging from the trailer, you expect this movie to be a sex fest. While it is so, that doesn't exactly mean it's sexy sex. That's actually something that I admire about the film. Some of it is sexy, but a lot of it is off-putting. From Joe's perspective, sex is something that she simply just can't stop doing. An actual addiction, and in some ways, a chore. Von Trier could've made it sexy, but instead he takes it in another direction. I like that, mainly because I never really bought sex addiction as a real addiction.
Nymphomaniac Vol. I is constantly entertaining, but it is isn't the great movie that Melancholia was. It has great moments, and then dull ones. I am mainly referring to the scenes between Joe and Seligman. I realize that these scenes are used a narrative tool, but does Skarsgard have to constantly keep referring back to fishing? Also, if Joe knows she's a bad person beyond saving, why should we care? I don't know. Vol. I is a good movie, but it's an incomplete one. I can't give the final verdict until Vol.II. Vol. I is a strange journey, but it's a fascinating one. Count me in.
B+
*Note: I have seen Vol. II and I wrote a review on it, but it wasn't posted... for some reason. Vol. II is better, but it falls apart in the last fifteen minutes. I say that Vol. II is better, but yet I give them both the same rating. Does that make sense? I don't know, but judging from the amount of people that found this review useful, I don't think anyone really cares.
Nymphomaniac Vol. II:B+, overall rating: B+