– Life along the Slaney

Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg

As the opening strains of Lascia ch’io pianga’ from ‘Rinaldo‘ are heard over the beautifully shot black and white slow motion shots of Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, my trepidation began to wane.
However it isn’t long until a graphic shot from Lars von Trier jolts the viewer from this blissful reverie and makes them realise that the Danish director’s latest offering will be far from an easy ride.

The story, broken into four chapters plus a prologue and an epilogue, tells the story of a man and woman who lose their only child in a freak accident. The man (Dafoe) is a psychiatrist and attempts to ‘treat’ his wife (Gainsbourg) who is becoming more and more unhinged as the story unfolds.
In an attempt at saving their marriage and possibly her life, the man brings his wife to a secluded cabin in the woods where she had previously gone with her son to work. Yes I know, cabin in the woods, secluded, unhinged wife….it’s hardly going to be a happy ending now is it. Well no, but the way the story unfolds is as visceral and visually disturbing as any film I have seen.

Dafoe and Gainsbourg are convincing in their respective roles but there is no doubt who the star is. von Trier uses slow motion, flashback, colour and sound to give the viewer a jarring, nerve-wrecking experience.
The violence, so talked about in Cannes last year, is shocking. There is no escaping it but it does serve a purpose – to show exactly how unhinged the woman has become.
What viewers are meant to take from the film is unclear. Is it that all women are deranged lunatics? Is it that there is a terrible violence within us all? Or are we just to soak up the visual experience without actually being any the wiser?
I guess you’ll have to see to decide for yourself.