A film born from director Lars von Trier’s struggle to break free from his deep depression, “Antichrist” emerges as a supernatural thriller set to take viewers to the edge of utter despair. The tale revolves on the tragic and gruesome life of an unnamed couple played by Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Defoe as they battle guilt, remorse and insanity. It all begins with Dafoe and Gainsbourg (known only as He and She) making passionate love and so united in their pleasure they forget about 1-year-old son, Nic, who had escaped from his crib. The child even manages to pause and take a peek at his parents in action. Fascinated by the falling snow outside the window, he climbs up a desk and pushes his stuffed bear out the window to take a look. Following suit, he topples off out the window and down the street towards his death. As She is severely devastated by the loss, He decides to bring her to the place She fears most, a remote cabin in the forest called Eden. Here they plummet into self-destruction as they engage in brutal self-tortures and slip away from the world of reality. Though the plot of the movie was deeply inspiring, in most part of the film, it didn’t seem to exist at all. It had seemed the plot was created to serve as the beginning of a movie filled with insanity, horror, and torment. Graphic, brutal sex, bloodied animals, and genital mutilation are among the ghastly scenes that go way overboard than “Saw”. The film turns even more absurd with an unforgettable scene –not in the good way – where an injured fox growls out “Chaos reigns!” It has drawn a lot of laughs and negative reactions for it was completely out of picture. Though the images were superbly made to gross out viewers, von Trier doesn’t draw the line between reality and psychological insanity. Viewers are left baffled which scenes exist in the real world and which are not. Taken as a whole, “Antichrist” delivers breathtaking construction as each frame is shot with absolute clarity shining with great imagery and vision. Behind the camera is Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire” cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle who delivers images that provide viewers with an arm’s length view of the scenes using hi-def digital cameras. The play of colors which begins in black and white and slowly shifts to a soft, intimate color in the next chapters compliment the feelings imbibed by the characters. Dafoe and Gainsburg are to be applauded for their brilliant performance of bringing to life the dark mysteries He and She are facing.
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