Nymphomaniac feels like the most mannered, overly-stylized hardcore film ever made. Penetration! Masturbation! Genital abuse! S&M maneuvers known as the "Silent Duck"! Hardcore Shia LaBeouf sex! ![]() ![]() That modus operandi is in even greater effect in his latest, Nymphomaniac, which as you've probably heard by now is a four-hour opus, split into two films (the first volume hits theaters today, and the second is now available on-demand) rife with NC-17 art porn. From Björk hanging in a noose in Dancer in the Dark to the graphic sight of Willem Dafoe's severed member in Antichrist, von Trier aims to both stun and preach to his audience, all with a wily grin. Best known stateside for the Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, Manderlay, Antichrist, and Melancholia, von Trier adores marrying formal stunts to material that wants to be scandalous while also moralizing about sex, groupthink mentalities, and race and gender politics. It's never wholly clear if the Danish director is sincere about his films' pretentions, or if his over-the-top stylings, be they of the austere Dogme 95 or highly aestheticized variety, are part of an elaborate prank. ![]() It's a polar-opposites-colliding dynamic that gives them their edgy emotional and intellectual energy. ![]() Lars von Trier makes movies that both take themselves way too seriously and not seriously at all.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |