The ugly side of religion gets raked over the coal’s in Danish director Lars Von Trier’s shocker that sees Willem Dafoe bedside manner get unraveled when a psychologist becomes the victim in this sexually explicit romp into uncontrollable urges.
Perhaps the title here says it all: Antichrist. Sure to prove problematic for religious souls this E1 Entertainment movie will certainly ruffle lots of feathers. Here we have the rather unhappy tale of two people who suffer a tragedy. What follows takes us down a very dark path where humanity is really left to suffer. Unlikely to get a large release due to the graphic nature of the content Antichrist surprisingly drew large crowds to the Vancouver International Film Festival with numerous walk outs.
Pornographic Images fail to excite in very Graphic drama about Family Turmoil
Denmark is known for its tolerance and permissive attitude on a host of social issues. Pornography was largely born there and gained widespread acceptance in the 1960s. Many may even consider Antichrist to have elements of porn and certainly to have aspects of extreme violence – all allegedly in the name of art. Purists will cringe at what unfolds here where a husband and wife team decides to take to the woods in a type of “cleansing” exercise.
Folks who remember the uncomfortable aspects of Misery can expect more of the same here. Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) stars as the husband who’s specialty is therapy. Years of knowledge behind the couch comes in handy when his wife undergoes lots of trauma when a family tragedy unfolds.
To help his wife get over her mental illness which takes on a physical form the pair go into nature. Out in the woods what was supposed to be an effort to snap the woman out of her doldrums becomes a journey into what best can be described as depravity as husband and wife become enemies tinged with religious overtones.
Elements of Torture lead to Overkill in messy effort.
Graphic violence involving torture and maiming along with explicit sex succeeds in shocking audiences. Expect seats to be vacated in a hurry as the bloodletting will turn stomachs. Director Lars Von Trier tries to paint a forceful portrait of a woman in deep trauma who’s past history leads to unprecedented fits of change steeped with some sort of religious overtone. Call it overkill in the extreme.
Cast as the woman who takes matters into her own hands is Charlotte Gainsbourg (21 Grams), typically much more subdued, paints her character with gruesome and vivid strokes in this horrific encounter. Broken down into chapters related to emotions Antichrist has a very somber tone. Slow pacing and a tendency to cut too fast and blur images to convey a sense of dreaming/nightmares adds nothing to this venture into some very depraved souls.
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