Nymphomaniac: Vol. II Review

In my review of Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (which you can read here) at one point I mentioned that the film was "teetering on the edge of being painfully boring". Volume II didn't just fall off that edge, it flipped dozens of times as it careened down the cliff and exploded in a cartoonish fashion once it found its final resting spot.

Lars von Trier is a gifted filmmaker, I am not doubting that. Before he unleashed his two part erotic opus on the world, he haunted me with Melancholia, a film I deemed great immediately after my one and only viewing and I have since gained a tremendous amount of admiration for it, as I cannot shake its rather profound approach to covering a topic like depression. I would need to revisit Dancer in the Dark, but it is a film that I have seen only once a dozen or so years ago and yet I can still recall various sequences that clearly were powerful enough to leave a lasting impression.

What I admired about the first half of Nymphomaniac is now long since forgotten. All I am left with is this slightly sour yet mostly shockingly bland taste in my mouth after witnessing the way the story concludes. Obviously I cannot make guarantees for the future as I have no idea what it holds, but I would be willing to wager a hefty sum that von Trier's four hour sexual odyssey will be quickly and easily left behind, never to be pondered again.

When the Nymphomaniac project first garnered buzz, it was because of the artistic decision by von Trier to include only real sexual acts in the film. The foreplay would be performed, the penetration would be real, and thus I suppose the work would be exciting in its authenticity. I rolled my eyes at this news because I figured it was merely an attempt to shock, a way to rally controversy and steal headlines rather than have any real value to the storytelling. Thus I was pleasantly surprised after viewing the first film because it attempted a meaningful, valuable narrative rather than just filling every frame with exposed genitals, although the fact that I found the finished product to be quite mediocre tells you I still had plenty of issues with the work.

At one point in Nymphomaniac: Vol. II, Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is being viciously beaten by a man named K (Jamie Bell) for the purposes of pleasure. The scene includes rope, a taut strap to ensure a human being will stay still during anything, and a level of nudity that most films would never dream of showcasing. Sounds like something that would keep my eyes glued to the screen, right? Not so much. I was literally sipping a cup of coffee the whole time to make sure mine stayed open.

It was the kind of display that I was glad they avoided in the first first, and yet here it was. How shocking! How outrageous! How bold! How daring!

How boring. How ponderous. How utterly forgettable.


1/5

Nymphomaniac: Volume I Review

I totally get what von Trier was trying to do here with Nymphomaniac: Volume 1, and I commend him for transcending the simple shock value factor by actually making a meaningful film beyond all the "OMG REAL SEX!" talk that lead up to my finally viewing the film. I am all for pushing the boundaries of cinema with methods meant to elicit a reaction from the audience, as long as those factors are contained within an actual film and an actual narrative, and clearly Lars delivered in that regard.

In fact, the first volume of his Nymphomaniac story is far less sex infused than I expected, as I went into the experience anticipating 86 minutes of artistic pornography and then 30 minutes of character development and plot. Lars von Trier clearly approached the topic of nymphomania with the intention of heading down a similar path as his 2011 film Melancholia, a film about depression and the devastating toll it can take on the person suffering as well as the victims they take down with them, and in that way I found Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 to exceed my expectations.

It's 2014 and sex is constantly at our fingertips, with a few clicks of a mouse you can find exactly what you want to see and who you want to see doing it, so merely presenting actual intercourse doesn't have the appeal it would have, say, 15 years ago when I was a perverted teenager with a one track mind. I had very little interest in a film such as this unless it had substance to back it up, and unfortunately while it tried, I simply could not grab hold of anything thematically with this picture. I just didn't care. I found the stories of sexual encounters to be rather bland and seemingly repetitive, which I guess you could say is the point because very little of this film is actually presented in a sexy fashion, but in the end what matters is that the content portrayed on the screen is capable of  holding my interest and Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1 was teetering on the edge of being painfully boring.

The particular sequence that did work for me was the portion involving Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her father as he is losing a battle with cancer. I found the ability to associate her desire for pleasure with the urge to mask the pain of losing someone to be very effective and important for the film's narrative, but in the end that one portion wasn't enough to actually elevate the work to anything I would consider good or even remotely memorable. Well, except for seeing the erect penis of Shia LeBeouf. Unfortunately, that cost me at least a few minutes of sleep last night and will likely be something I have trouble forgetting any time soon.

I admire the craft of Lars von Trier and the fact that this film wasn't merely a compilation of debauchery and "shocking" imagery is enough for me to not completely dismiss the work as a whole, but when so many films are able to shake my core and leave me craving more, Nymphomaniac: Vol 1 didn't even register the slightest rattle and I certainly can take my time before sitting down for part two.


2.5/5