Lars Von Trier has established himself as the master of all things of a graphic nature, yet his newest films are his most inoffensive of all- their offensiveness is deliberate. At its heart, Nymphomaniac isn't even about sex, it's about the relationship between a depressed woman and an vulnerable man. Stellan Skarsgård plays Seligman, a lonely old bachelor who discovers Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) lying bruised and bleeding near his apartment building. After asking him not to call an ambulance, she agrees to come with him to his apartment to get cleaned up. Seligman's trustworthy and non-threatening manner is a welcome change of pace for Joe, and it allows her to open up and tell him her life story: an epic of wild and promiscuous sex contrasted with alienation that takes all four hours to complete. Seligman responds occasionally with the odd comment, comparing her sexual experiences to things like fly-fishing, the Fibonacci sequence, and Bach's polyphony. There's no way to tell if his interjections are brilliant, or borderline autistic. Slowly but surely, Seligman and Joe become friends, of a sort, and all the sex, all the degradation has to be read against the strange comedy of this odd-couple friendship. But there's no forgetting that this is Von Trier in the director's chair, and he'll refuse the sentimental ending to restate the final, destructive power of sex.
If there's any more question as to what the film wants to say, look to an interview Von Trier gave to Time Out upon the film's release:
If there's any more question as to what the film wants to say, look to an interview Von Trier gave to Time Out upon the film's release:
As I stand to leave, I point to the tattoo he has of ‘Fuck’ on his knuckles. Somehow, I’d remembered him having the words ‘Love’ and ‘Hate’ on each hand. ‘Oh no,’ he says, ‘but, then again, “fuck” does sit between love and hate.’ At which he chuckles. A lot.
I would name this as a film that sits right in the middle of Von Trier's filmography. It wants for the simplicity of Dogville, but its provocative nature is more refined than Antichrist. It's nearly impossible to talk about the movie without mentioning its most notorious member- Shia LaBeouf. He (mostly) plays the man responsible for taking Joe's virginity, and the role is essential, but LaBeouf is the film’s albatross. It's not that he's just a bad actor- his emotions feel forced- but his British accent (if you want to call it that) is a Dick-Van-Dyke nightmare that sticks out from the crowd.
But he’s the only dull note as far as acting goes, with veterans like Christian Slater, Willem Dafoe and Jamie Bell all pulling their weight as equally likable and despicable characters. Uma Thurman is particularly great as Mrs. H, a woman forced to confront Joe about sleeping with her husband. She's wild and crazy and all over the place in just the right way, even politely asking “Would it be all right if I showed the children the whoring bed?” to Joe at one point.
Volume I is indisputably the better of the two films. All the humor and humanity, the lightness that made the first part enjoyable are long gone in Volume II. The Lars Von Trier you know is back and you wish he'd stayed away, for what follows is nothing but cynical, sadomasochistic (literally), and punishing. Maybe the change would seem more coherent if it had all been viewed in one part, but when the experience is split into two, the sudden change in tone is jarring and upsetting. |
Von Trier gets is often accused being a misogynist, given the situations he places his female characters in, but I’d like to argue that he’s just the opposite. I think he’s fascinated by women. He sees them, in all their flaws, with all of their complexities, and he makes movies that are based around the idea of understanding them better. His actresses are willing to put themselves through hell for him, and more often than not, it's worth it- they receive something raw and powerful in return.
Nymphomaniac: Volumes I & II are movies with a lot to say, and whether you like what they're saying or not, you have to agree with the fact that one: it's saying something important about the discovery and development of sexuality, and two: no other could have made this movie.
Nymphomaniac: Volumes I & II are movies with a lot to say, and whether you like what they're saying or not, you have to agree with the fact that one: it's saying something important about the discovery and development of sexuality, and two: no other could have made this movie.