A psychopath with intense illusions of grandeur presents the history of his crimes by choosing 5 precise events with importance for his evolution.
Another film by Lars von Trier that made the Cannes public where it premiered leave the theatre early.
Clearly from the start, this is not for just anyone.
It's a tad long too, but that's not the problem.
The problem comes from the difficult to watch scenes due to their unfiltered violence and the shock of some of the choices which are not stopped by any taboo. These are the elements that most frequently show up and can stop the audience from having the patience to discern the beautiful in the dialogue or in the scenes towards the end of the movie, and it's not something to condemn because the director intentionally created this situation to the detriment of his own art. And this is probably because the realism and lack of filters are part of the art for which he is well known and the artist did not want to contradict himself ... Probably.
I am torn between the consideration that the director is just very narcissistic and a megalomaniac himself or the idea that he's just showing us very cleverly and elaborately how easily one can manipulate ideas about art, beauty and humanity to enhance the importance of misconceived ideas, used for purposes that are contrary to their initial ideologies. However, the second option doesn't actually cancel the first one, because it is the director who controls the said manipulation ...
Matt Dillon is extremely believable and horrible, he will be and probably has been omitted from all the awards because of the film's negative reputation. On top of that, his portrayal of an obsessive-compulsive disorder sufferer is extremely realistic and I would say even comical. A bit of humour also comes from the situations where the protagonist seems lucky in very risky situations.
It isn't a bad or ugly movie per se, it will cause a lot of thoughts and analysis, but it will have negative effects in the first instance, probably even after the semi-liberating ending. This one is just for the brave who know what to expect!
P.S.: The scenes involving animals have PETA approval, so they are not real.
Screenplay / Direction: Lars von Trier
Featuring: Matt Dillon, Bruno Ganz, Uma Thurman, Riley Keough, Sofie Gråbøl, Jeremy Davies
