Melancholia

Depression is a big bitch. It takes over and weighs so much on people that at times it feels like the world is on their shoulders. And that is what Melancholia is about, a movie divided into two equal parts that both depict how depression can affect us in certain situations.

The first half of the movie is all about Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and her husband Michael (Alexander Skarsgard) at their wedding. Justine tries to her utmost abilities to be happy, but can't seem to overcome her crippling depression which renders her into doing quite...unorthodox things such as; urinating on the golf course, taking a bath, isolating herself like she has the plague, and screwing a new associate hired by her boss. Little things like that tend to screw up someone's wedding. This part also shows how everyone orbiting around Justine tries to deal with this possible catastrophe of a wedding. Her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) tries to keep everything together despite feeling many emotions including anger and regret, yet sorrow and empathy towards her sister. Claire's husband John (Kiefer Sutherland) is pretty pissed off considering he paid for the wedding that is now being shot to hell by Justine and her mother Gaby (Charlotte Rampling) being giant sticks in the mud.

The second half of the movie switches things up all together. It focuses on Claire who is anxious, fearful, and clearly depressed about the possibility of a planet named Melancholia destroying the Earth in less than a few days. Her husband tries to reassure her that everything will be okay, but after a while, she even realizes that he has no clue what the hell he's talking about which shoots all chance of calming down straight to Hell. And unlike the first half of the movie where Justine is a depressed wreck, in this situation of waiting for the Earth to end (and being single thanks to her antics), Justine actually manages to keep a cool head on her shoulders strangely enough. She understands the gravity of the situation, but she just doesn't give a shit. In her mind, the Earth is something which isn't worth saving and is filled with evil. So why mourn?

The visuals in Melancholia are easily some of the best visuals I have seen in 2011. The opening, silent scenes depicting the destruction that will ensue with the end of the world are absolutely breathtaking. You just watch in amazement as something so horrible, yet so beautiful takes place before your eyes. It almost doesn't even feel real. And no shit, it's a movie. But still...you can't believe what you're seeing on the screen.

Performances are another area in which Melancholia shines. Kirsten Dunst easily delivers her best performance to date as Justine. Nothing seems contrived or overacted with her performance, homegirl is perfect as a depressed person. Though at times, her antics easily rub you the wrong way, Kirsten Dunst is so effective at portraying inner sorrow and despair that you almost feel bad for her, even when she's screwing everything up for everyone else around her. Charlotte Gainsbourg is easily another stand-out here. The Academy should award both of these women with a Oscar nomination this year. Charlotte's scenes alone with Claire losing her cool and breaking down on screen are some of the most depressing scenes I've seen in a movie in a while and easily should lock her in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. Which probably means she won't get nominated considering I want her and Kirsten to receive those nominations. Fuck.

Melancholia is a beautiful, insightful, and thought provoking movie about depression. The ideas displayed about Justine and Claire with their emotions and actions left me thinking about this movie long after it was over. Let me throw my two cents in about what I think the movie was about; I think the theme was that those who are more inclined to feel depression already feel like the world is ending, so when it did end, it was almost like a giant weight was released off their shoulders. Melancholy is something unavoidable despite your best efforts and can take over you at any time. Those who try to be happy will feel more affected by sadness then those who already live in their own state of doom and gloom. That crisis isn't as detrimental and destructive when you already feel like you're carrying the entire world on your shoulders. One felt that the world was ending in a figurative sense while the other felt it was ending in a literal sense. Isn't it depressing that we really will never know the correct meaning of what this movie meant to portray? Sad. Sad. Sad.

4/4