Antichrist

Reviewed by: Matthew
4/4 banana peels




Just when I thought I had already seen the most grotesque yet beautiful film ever (Gasper Noe's Irreversible), this movie comes along. Antichrist is intended to be a fable about the fall of man, set in a mirror-world where chaos and Satan reigns, not God. In reality, it is the uncanny story of Adam and Eve told very much in reverse chronological order to the actual biblical story. The characters have no names; they are simply referred to as He and She played respectively by Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. They are the center pieces of the movie, without their humble performances this movie wouldn't have gotten two inches off the ground. They embrace their roles and take the movie to the next level without looking back. The movie opens with a brief prologue which is shot strictly in black and white. You see Dafoe and Gainsbourgs' characters making passionate love in the night while their infant son "Nick" (reference to the devil) crawls around exploring and ultimately falls to his death. This sets up chapter one titled "Grief" You see the couple grieving the seemingly accidental death of their son, so they set out for their country home, in a place called Eden (the place “She” fears the most) in order to get away from it all and save their marriage. Next is the chapter titled "Pain". He is a therapist and feels that only He can get through to his wife, who has now become physically ill after their child's death. He is a man of reason. She is very much driven by emotion. Without spoiling the movie, what follows is a series of bizarre interactions with nature, failed attempts at therapy (of the verbal, sexual, and physical varieties) and then a very disturbing climax hence the third chapters title "Despair". Man is capable of limitless harm and that leads to human destruction. Finally, the movie is topped off by the hauntingly arresting epilogue that had me speechless.

The film shines for me personally during the stunning musical black & white prologue and epilogue. Von Trier has always pushed the envelope to that next degree; he has always been the king provocateur. He is determined to confront and shake his audience more than any other filmmaker (IE: Lynch, Noe). I applaud Von Trier for not holding back and letting the cannon's loose just as he always does. This movie will stay with me and the majority of the viewers who go watch this. Be prepared, you will be forever changed by Lars Von Trier's Antichrist for a long time to come.