Melancholia just hit Showtime. I remember when it was first advertised. It seemed like the antithesis of the feel good movie. It interested me, but I didn't want to spend the money to see it in the theatre. So, when I found it it was on Showtime I taped it.
A brief synopsis: On a woman's wedding day a new star is observed in the sky, and it appears to be on a collision course with Earth. The movie covers the wedding and reception and the days leading up to the close encounter with the star.
Appropriately enough, the star is named Melancholia. And the mental health of the woman getting married matches that of the star's name. The wedding goes off well, but the limo taking the bride and groom gets stuck, and while working to get it unstuck, Justine looks up and sees a new star in the sky. What should be the happiest night of her life turns into a travesty as her foreboding of impending annihilation jump starts a depressive state (you gather through the movie that she is severely bipolar).
I may be reading more into the movie than was intended, but what makes this movie interesting to me is the juxtaposition of the main characters and their behaviors as the star gets closer. Justine, from her first glimpse of the star, is thrown into a manic depressive state. But as the star gets closer, her resolve improves and she almost appears to be cheering up. In contrast, though, her brother-in-law (played by Kiefer Sutherland) is almost giddy with the approaching star. But as it grows closer, he regresses into panic, and upon realization that our existence is drawing to a close, he chooses the time of his own death; leaving his wife (Justine's sister) and son to face death head on.
Melancholia is a contemplative movie.It moves slowly, but with reason. You are observing the sure, informed, inevitable death of mankind through two sisters' opposite mindsets. You leave the movie thinking, and thinking yet some more. Thankfully, I DVR'd the movie. So, I was able to watch the movie a second time. It was almost necessary in order to gain a better understanding of key parts of the events.
Cinematically, it was stunning. You could virtually touch the pathos, the fear, the acceptance and unwillingness to accept. And watching a star traveling at 66,000 miles a minute just...absorb the Earth, both from space and from Earth, was something else. You see the former at the beginning of the movie, the latter at the end. And when all that is left is nothingness...Thought provoking indeed.
This is not a movie for folks who want/need speed and action. DH would have gone to sleep in the first five minutes. : ) And it fits well into the 'end of the world' movie theme. But where other 'end of the world' movies end Disney happy (Armageddon, 2012, Deep Impact, The Day After Tomorrow), this one ends most realistically. At almost two and a half-hours, it can be daunting. But I was totally mesmerized from beginning to end. I had no idea how long it was until the credits started rolling.
Out of 5 thumbs up, I give it a 4. Check it out and let me know what you think.
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