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I’m concerned that, given the crowded fall cinema calendar, some people might have trouble deciding whether to see Lars von Trier’s Melancholia or Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene. both films begin with the letter M, focus on physical and emotional isolation, feature supporting roles by the never-less-than-rapacious Brady Corbet and are close studies the white American bosom. a WTT tale of the tape: the breasts: MMMM’s Elizabeth Olsen is less frequently topless, but Kirsten Dunst’s breasts are more depressed. Ms. Olsen is shot more flatteringly, often at the magic hour, while Ms. Dunst is subjected to Lars’ somewhat wobbly camera and tendency to shoot her from underneath, which can make it look like she has a double chin. the music: do you like it big? then you’ll enjoy the sheer volume of von Trier’s Wagner (interspersed with ironically tinkling Sinatra tunes: “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Strangers in the Night”). MMMM is quieter, though John Hawkes (looking not a little like a lost son of Melancholia’s John Hurt) drips ice water down the spine with the double-edged “She’s Just a Picture.”  the structure: the difference is in how each film is split in half. MMMM uses a complicated matching cut flashback pattern, while Melancholia is split definitively by title cards into parts I and II. both movies present frightening rituals (drugged rape in one cult, an elaborate wedding ceremony in the other) followed by claustrophobic sequences of harried, “responsible” couples coping with unwashed depressives in ill-fitting loungewear. only Melancholia finishes with the actual end of the world but one senses an unsavory, Twentynine Palms-style reckoning for the folks in MMMM. in conclusion: see both. but if you only buy one ticket this week, there’s nothing better than Earth disappearing like a pupil in the eye of Melancholia. not to mention the hilarity of Udo Kier disgustedly shielding his gaze from the monsters who’ve ruined his perfectly planned wedding.

I’m concerned that, given the crowded fall cinema calendar, some people might have trouble deciding whether to see Lars von Trier’s Melancholia or Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene.

both films begin with the letter M, focus on physical and emotional isolation, feature supporting roles by the never-less-than-rapacious Brady Corbet and are close studies the white American bosom. a WTT tale of the tape:

the breasts: MMMM’s Elizabeth Olsen is less frequently topless, but Kirsten Dunst’s breasts are more depressed. Ms. Olsen is shot more flatteringly, often at the magic hour, while Ms. Dunst is subjected to Lars’ somewhat wobbly camera and tendency to shoot her from underneath, which can make it look like she has a double chin.

the music: do you like it big? then you’ll enjoy the sheer volume of von Trier’s Wagner (interspersed with ironically tinkling Sinatra tunes: “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Strangers in the Night”). MMMM is quieter, though John Hawkes (looking not a little like a lost son of Melancholia’s John Hurt) drips ice water down the spine with the double-edged “She’s Just a Picture.” 

the structure: the difference is in how each film is split in half. MMMM uses a complicated matching cut flashback pattern, while Melancholia is split definitively by title cards into parts I and II. both movies present frightening rituals (drugged rape in one cult, an elaborate wedding ceremony in the other) followed by claustrophobic sequences of harried, “responsible” couples coping with unwashed depressives in ill-fitting loungewear. only Melancholia finishes with the actual end of the world but one senses an unsavory, Twentynine Palms-style reckoning for the folks in MMMM.

in conclusion: see both. but if you only buy one ticket this week, there’s nothing better than Earth disappearing like a pupil in the eye of Melancholia. not to mention the hilarity of Udo Kier disgustedly shielding his gaze from the monsters who’ve ruined his perfectly planned wedding.

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