Premise: A nymphomaniac woman recounts her life story to a man giving her shelter after an assault.
Congrats Lars von Treir. You're a provocateur who provoked me. That's almost my full opinion of Nymphomaniac. This is an explicit and shocking movie. Watching it, at times I couldn't believe that this was available on Hulu at all. The only thing that doesn't make it porn at times is that no one really appears to be having any fun. The two parts really are distinct movies, but I don't want to make two separate posts on it.
There's a lot of impressive stuff in this movie. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Stacy Martin give very committed/brave/bold/fearless performances. I'm not sure what the right word is. They go through the wringer and are game for every step of it. The absolute standout of the two parts is a single-scene performance by Uma Thurman as a woman whose husband has left her for the main character (Martin in this scene and Gainsbourg later on). It's a pretty stunning exercise is discomfort. It wasn't discomfort for discomfort's sake. It really served a purpose.
Mostly though, the film felt like Lars von Trier stirring outrage. I mean, there's an onscreen home abortion. I guess it's a success in that I was deeply unsettled watching that. I mostly came away from this movie wondering what the point was. It reminds me a bit of when I watched A Dog's Purpose. The movie definitely brought me to tears when the dog dies the first time. I don't credit that to the film though. I'm going to weep at a dog dying in any movie of any quality. Nymphomaniac is similar. It certainly made me feel things, but it felt more like a reaction test than a movie with anything in particular to say.
Also, full transparency: I mainly watched this after hearing that Mia Goth was good in it. I didn't realize that she didn't show until 3 hours into the movie; with 45 minutes left. I was surly about that and felt cheated. That didn't help my opinion of the movie.
Verdict: Strongly Don't Recommend
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