Rent Nymphomaniac: Vol.2 (2013)

Misanthrope's guide to society - Nymphomaniac: Vol.2 review by AS

I'm not fan of all of von Triers work, but some of his early stuff (in

particular the television series Riget (The Kingdom)) and the recent

Depression trilogy (Antichrist, Melancholia and Nymphomaniac) are

excellent with Nymphomaniac having a chance of becoming one of my

favourite movies, once things settle a little.

There are three aspects to understanding of this film: 1. Von Trier is

mentally ill. 2. He is a brilliant film maker, "technical perfection

as something natural" (Pogorelich) comes to mind. 3. He is a complete

misanthrope, he has zero belief in humanity or any possibility of

redemption, world would be a better place if solar system was replaced

by a cosmic void.

If you have at least some resonance with 3. above, the film makes a

gripping viewing. It is not easy, it's like being in a pub brawl,

where the you've just received two jabs, you feel groggy, your head is

ringing and you see a third one coming, straight for the nose, and

you don't do anything to prevent it. Everything is shown, all the

little unpleasantness that you really didn't want to see are there

with clinical precision. The scene with Umma Thurman, the father's

death and the final scene (of Vol 2) are masterpieces in themselves.

It's long and you should watch it in two instalments. I've lost my

nigt sleep after each of them.

Sadly, whilst there are some flashes of brilliance, this is an inferior conclusion (Director's Cut) - Nymphomaniac: Vol.2 review by TB

Concluding the epic film odyssey from Lars Von Trier, following the journey of a female nymphomaniac called Joe, sadly this is a bloated & often not particularly good conclusion, despite some excellent individual moments.

After the brilliance of Vol. 1, we follow Joe into adulthood. She has, right at the end of the previous film, lost the ability to feel any sexual pleasure, which then sends her on a spiral downwards. We also, from about 40 minutes in, transition from Stacy Martin to Charlotte Gainsbourg as Joe. And this for me is this film's biggest issue. In Vol. 1, we jumped back & forward in time, seeing both Gainsbourg & Martin as the different versions of Joe, which worked really well.

However, once Gainsbourg is solely on screen, the film becomes really cold & also brittle. By that, I mean that I genuinely didn't like Gainsbourg's performance when it is not offset by Martin's. Gainsbourg is an actor who never makes you that happy to be in her company, exuding a real narcissism & abrasiveness, combined with a line delivery that makes it sound like she is constantly lecturing you as the viewer, not welcoming you in to the story which in the first part, I really enjoyed.

There is also, whilst I appreciate that this is Von Trier deliberately being provocative & button-pushing, a couple of extremely repulsive & verging on dispicible actions/decisions by the adult Joe which the film shows, then attempts to reason away by critiquing the society we live in. There is no society in the world that would do anything other than condemn the actions of Joe as a parent putting her infant son at risk whilst she went out to get sexually pleasured. And the fact that this attempted justification is delivered by Gainsbourg with a face that looks like a smacked arse & a tone of voice that says "How dare you pass judgement on me!!" is just vomit-inducing. It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman, those type of actions are the lowest of the low.

As the film draws to its conclusion, we do get some warmth in the shape of Joe's relationship with P, again a fantastic debut from Mia Goth. Willem Defoe also appears, after his starting role in Von Trier's previous film Antichrist, although he gets away far more lightly in this film. Finally, Jamie Bell is also great, as the punishment-obssesed sadist K. In a departure from his normal roles, he plays K as a Northern-accented, quiet psychopath, who looks more like someone who would visit your house & change your boiler rather than a person who straps you to a sofa & beats you until you are hideously disfigured.

The ending is unexpected but also well-handled, plus there is a final, excellent joke which is the best line of the whole 2 films. It's just a shame that after an excellent start, the film becomes too long & weighed down by its own righteousness & self-importance, leaving you ultimately unsatisfied, which is ironic for a film which is ultimately concerned with climaxing...