Film Review & Giveaway: Antichrist – CLOSED

“I would like to invite you for a tiny glimpse behind the curtain, a glimpse into the dark

world of my imagination: into the nature of my fears, into the nature of Antichrist.”

Lars von Trier

One man’s horror flick is another man’s chauvinistic exploitation flick. Controversy will always reign when Danish director Lars von Trier is at the helm. His latest film, Antichrist has been enveloped in a media storm since its debut earlier this year at Cannes (where Charlotte Gainsbourg won Best Actress). Made by von Trier after a self-confessed bout of depression, Antichrist is a film which pushes the boundaries of taste. Whatever your feelings on the final product, it is an unforgettable experience with visual images that are hard to erase.

Antichrist is divided into chapters as the film examines loss and all its accompanying emotions. Starring Willem Dafoe (Platoon, Shadow of the Vampire, Spiderman), and Charlotte Gainsbourg (My Wife is an Actress, The Science of Sleep) as grieving parents entering into a therapist and patient relationship. Most of the film’s action is set in the couple’s cabin in a deserted wood called ‘Eden’, where with a rather extreme form of therapy Dafoe’s character, simply titled He, attempts to council his ‘atypically’ grieving wife, She (Gainsbourg) after the death of their young son.

The film considers themes of anxiety, despair, guilt and pain. Encompassing wider debates on the relationship between women and Nature, the film takes some pretty disturbing twists as elements from the traditional horror genre start creeping in. And if you were in any doubt as to von Trier’s intentions, the opening scene should prepare any audience that he is not going to shield the viewers’ gaze. Antichrist is a test of how far he can push his vision, his actors and his audience.

The shocking images with which the film has become synonymous are coupled with some truly exquisite ones as well, thanks to a fantastic director of photography, Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire, Dogville, 28 Days Later). The acting is impressive, with two performers of the highest calibre committing wholeheartedly. Revealing far more of themselves than cinema normally demands, either incredibly brave or trusting, Dafoe and Gainsbourg have certainly met the challenges of this material.  

There is an unease to this film, which grips you very early on. It is not simply the imagery – it is the tone and thematic explorations. What we are meant to interpret from this film remains ambiguous, but its purpose is less so- von Trier wants you to be offended.

The real question is, has von Trier pushed it too far with Antichrist?

For his past treatment of female characters, von Trier has been labelled a misogynist and again this term is being attached to him for the trials he pushed Gainsbourg through. In Antichrist he seems ambivalent, determined to both endorse and deny the religious hypocrisy of female (Eve’s) guilt. Indeed most of the misogyny of the film is placed in Gainsbourg’s mouth with lines like, ‘A crying woman is a scheming woman’, while Dafoe’s character defends women’s inherent nature. Whether von Trier buys into the notion of a flawed female nature or not, doesn’t really matter. By failing to expose the male role to as much zeal and persistence Antichrist definitely smacks of an odd sort of chauvinism presented in arthouse wrapping.

This is the archetypal, one-time only film experience. No matter how amazing the performances and how beautiful some of the shots, the images of violence and sex as chaos descends are increasingly hard to watch and intentionally so. If Antichrist doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable, it’s definitely time to seek professional help.

Antichrist is screening in limited release in Australia from the 26^th November

Director: Lars von Trier

Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Willem Dafoe

Antichrist is R rated and Australian cinemas will be showing the uncut version

Image credits 1, 2, 3

We want to hear what you think of Lars von Trier’s latest work, Trespass has 20 double passes to give away to readers in Australia. Simply email in your name and address to olivia@trespassmag.com