“Perhaps the only difference between me and other people was that I’ve always demanded more from the sunset; more spectacular colours when the sun hit the horizon. That’s perhaps my only sin.”
Lars von Trier has created a name for himself in the industry as being a provocateur, a prankster of the highest calibre. Never one to shy away from the taboo, Trier tickles our warped fancy again with his latest endeavour- Nymphomaniac.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdxzno5Xp2Y?rel=0]
Nymphomaniac follows the story of Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a self-diagnosed sex addict. Originally set to be one film, the project had to be cut into two volumes due to its extreme length; each volume however serves to present Joe in a different light. Retelling her story to Seligman (Stellan Skarsgaard) after he finds her helpless, beaten, and unconscious in a dark dingy alleyway, Joe charts her sexual endeavours from an early age up to present day.
Volume I seems to be somewhat of a discovery for her – she begins to explore her sexuality and finds liberation in the idea of being completely and utterly in control of her emotions. To her, sex was a rebellion against love. That is until love hits her when she least expects it, and rather devastatingly when her body least wants it. Stacy Martin is enigmatic in the role of young Joe, bringing to life a character that could so easily be washed away by the abrupt nature of a film associated with nymphomania. Shia LaBeouf is full of promise in the role of Jerome, yet it’s nigh on impossible to get over the astoundingly inconsistent (presumably British) accent that is perhaps more unsettling than the extreme sexual imagery.
Volume II takes a drastically more sombre turn. Joe’s addiction reaches new heights when she resorts to extreme measures for sexual satisfaction, and it is now that we witness just how much of a profound impact her nymphomania has had on her life. Yet as a viewer we get the impression that there’s not much Joe seems to regret about her condition and the impact it has had on her ability to find love; she seems to be rather blasé about her addiction and the struggles she’s faced as a result of it, which is actually rather refreshing to see. Perhaps she simply doesn’t need nor want love.
Director and writer Lars von Trier has come under a huge amount of scrutiny for the graphic sexuality presented in Nymphomaniac. All too often people find themselves caught up in the human anatomy and begin to neglect the human emotions that unfold so beautifully within the films. Trier is an incredibly intelligent person; he is aware of the reaction to his work and plays on it. The more people react to his flagrant controversy the more he relishes it. It’s almost like a game of cat and mouse between Trier and the critics, and at times it’s not abhorrently clear who’s chasing who. But if we look past the face value sexual nature of the films, there is a wealth of beauty and potential lying within.
Words by Sophie Mace