Movie Review: Antichrist

by Justin Velasquez
October 30, 2009

Just in time for Halloween is a horror film that's scary mainly because it's so gruesome and unforgettable.  Director Lars von Trier, the man who brought oddly unique films such as Dancer in the Dark and Dogville, returns from a personal state of depression to terrorize audiences with what may the year's worst film.  At the same time he may have also accomplished the feat of delivering an unforgettable feature whose images may leave an indelible mark in the minds of all who see it. 

Altogether shocking, provocative and incredibly self-indulgent, Antichrist is a film where true creative control for the director may be a bad thing.  von Trier toes the fine line between visionary and weirdo and just a peek into this film should serve notice as to what's going on in his mind.

Antichrist is a tale about a couple coming to grips with the unexpected death of their infant child.  How the child meets his fate is rather gruesome - he climbs out of his crib and falls out of an open window.  All the while the child roams the house it's seen that his parents, only known as He and She (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg), are making passionate love and thus are oblivious to their child's whereabouts.  The opening scene is shot in black and white, the cinematography is beautiful, and coupled with Handel's aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" seems to be an incredible start.  But everything goes downhill from here as the film's execution is lost upon this viewer and will surely be lost upon casual viewers alike.

Seemingly Antichrist looks to be a drama as the couple tries to move forward.  The problem is that they can't, especially She.  She feels responsible for what happened and as a result is admitted to the hospital after collapsing at the funeral.  Conveniently, He is a therapist and insists that She confront her problems rather than hide behind the myriad of medications that she's taking.  He seems callous and indifferent and that may be intentional, possibly realizing that someone needs to display strength. 

At his behest, the couple retreat to a secluded cabin ironically called Eden.  Although Eden carries with it positive connotations the cabin itself is representative of the many fears and evils that plague She.  He sees this trip as a form of therapy and hopefully it can restore that which they've lost since their child's death.

What's revealed during the film is that She used Eden the previous summer to complete her thesis, and material she gathered couldn't be more unsettling.  Only She and the child stayed in Eden that summer and He begins to point out oddities in her notes and in pictures that He found of their son.  At this point any healing that has occurred is quickly erased as the retreat turns deadly.  She becomes someone else entirely, almost possessed, and He is forced to fight for his own survival.

Antichrist is one of the most appalling films to be released this year.  von Trier, with this one film, has gone from beautifully artistic spirit to incredibly self-indulgent hack.  Outside of the cinematography (provided by Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire) and the surprisingly strong acting (in spite of the film's content) there is not one redeeming, positive thing to write about.  There are some images contained in Antichrist that will not be forgotten anytime soon as they are disgusting, misogynistic and unnecessary.  What's puzzling is the director's inclusion of He's interaction with nature, namely confrontations with three specific animals: a deer, a talking fox and a crow.  They represent the three beggars, seen as toy figures at the beginning of the film and seen again in their true form towards the film's conclusion.  The animals represent three distinct emotions - grief, pain and despair.  The film is divided into four chapters, the first three named grief, pain and despair respectively.  The interaction with these animals can be seen as von Trier at his most artistic but considering the film's tone it looks more like a mocking of religion and its themes of good within humanity.

von Trier almost giddily wants to convey to the audience is that humanity is inherently evil.  She, with her research, suggests that evil is contained within women most especially.  But He, with his actions and his one-on-one therapy sessions, proves through apathy and coercion that men are just as capable of evil thoughts and actions.  It's sad that the scenes and images contained within this feature have to be so graphic and extreme to get the point across. 

For what it's worth, afterwards I felt awful and was clearly disturbed.  These are not feelings that I want to have after viewing a form of "entertainment" but if that was von Trier's intention then he succeeded.  But there are better, more delicate ways to convey such a frightening message - without his name attached to this project Antichrist is merely a pornographic film slickly disguised as art. 

1 Star out of Four