Antichrist (2009) Movie Review

Played by Willem Dafoe, He is portrayed as a serious and tormented individual. The film begins with Him and his wife, She (Charlotte Gainsbourg), sharing an intimate moment. However, tragedy strikes when their infant son falls to his death while exploring in the next room. This neutral event sets the stage for the rest of the film, divided into three stages: Grief, Pain, and Despair.

It's important to recognize that He and She are already emotionally fragile. She, influenced by her research on witchcraft, questions if women are inherently evil, leading to self-doubt. He, a controlling and dominant personality, seems compelled to punish the woman who brought their child into the world in response to the traumatic incident.

In the first stage, Grief, their emotional response is understandable, but their mistake lies in attempting to fix it rather than accepting and living through it. They blame themselves for the tragedy, and guilt demands punishment. She, in particular, mentally punishes herself. He, perhaps without realizing why, feels compelled to address her guilt as a problem, calmly lecturing her with detached psychobabble. He insists her grief is her fault, blaming her for it.

This results in pain, especially when he insists, at this particular time, on going to their secluded cabin in a dark woods she's afraid of even under normal circumstances. The cabin is called Eden, suggesting that their paradise is forever lost after a momentous event.

The emotional distress from his counseling and their move to the forest is now accompanied by suffering from nature and their own actions. The woods house strange animals that appear normal – a deer, a fox, a crow – but are possessed and unnatural. Instead of seeking solace in the cabin, He and She increasingly find themselves in the wilderness, subjecting each other to unbearable and shockingly intimate pain.

These scenes have been labeled as "torture po-rn." While they are undoubtedly sadomasochistic, whether anyone finds them erotic is doubtful. They are intentionally extreme; von Trier, a provocateur, aims to challenge and shake his audience more than other serious filmmakers, even surpassing Bunuel and Herzog. He uses sex, pain, boredom, theology, and unconventional stylistic choices to do so. However, this ensures that the film remains true to his vision without being watered down by a cautious studio executive.

Despite my uncertainty about von Trier's motives, I found value in the performances. Even though feature films are fictional, they serve as documentaries showcasing actors in front of a camera. Both Dafoe and Gainsbourg, known risk-takers, deliver extraordinary performances in response to the unique demands of the film. They respond convincingly, allowing He and She to break free from von Trier's theoretical control and act on their own, as compelled.

In a recent interview, Dafoe revealed that they had minimal discussions before their challenging scenes, emphasizing that their intimacy was primarily on-camera, making it more impactful for them.

So, in a way, it's a documentary capturing the actors' courage and the realization of von Trier's vision. On a personal level, it reflects our fear that evil exists, and our fellow humans can be unimaginably cruel, potentially leading, as depicted in the film, to the obliteration of human hope – the third stage being Despair.