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MELANCHOLIA (2011) Movie Reviews
Story: Dramatic science fiction story of two sisters' reactions to the approaching collision of planet Melancholia with Earth. Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Alexander Skarsgård, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Gainsbourg, John Hurt Director: Lars von Trier Opened: November 11, 2011 On DVD: March 13, 2012 From: Magnolia Length: 2 hr. 10 min.
Out On DVD
MARCH 13, 2012
Melancholia (2011), Excellent Reviews, Mixed Key Cities
Updated: Sun, Mar 11 2012, 12:59pm
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Melancholia (2011) played in key cities to excellent reviews that at the same time were mixed. • Christy Lemire wrote for the Associated Press, "Depression finally seems to have brought out the best in Lars von Trier: 'Melancholia' is his strongest work in a while, a devastatingly beautiful, operatic mixture of all his signature themes and visual schemes." • And Ty Burr called the film in the Boston Globe, "...a gorgeous, boring bummer."   More Reviews Below...

Melancholia (2011)
Positive Reviews
(49 Reviews,  reviews below)
 Compare This Movie... 
TotalBroad
National
Press
Local
News-
papers
Alter–
native/
Indie
High-
Brow
Press
Movie
Industry
NY/LA
Chicago
Toronto
Key
Cities
Total
B.O.
81.5% 83.4% 79.6% 73.3% 86.6% 80.3% 86.4% 71.8% $3.0M
Averages: 51.8% 54.1% 52.3% 46.9% 45.8% 48.7% 49.9% 54.7%
Reviews & Quotes (49)

BROAD NATIONAL PRESS (10 Reviews)
Alynda Wheat, People: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg)
" 'Melancholia's' first half is intriguing.... Director Lars von Trier paints a pretty tableau, but it beats me what he's trying to say." (Read the full review...)
116 words, 11/10/11

Richard Corliss, Time: OUTSTANDING
"...amazing and confounding... borderline-brilliant... visually rewarding as anything in modern movie creation, but it falls flat in behavioral acuity." (Read the full review...)
1,352 words, 11/11/11

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"Lars von Trier's strongest work in a while, a devastatingly beautiful, operatic mixture of all his signature themes and visual schemes." (Read the full review...)
771 words, 11/10/11

Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"Warning: This harrowing end-of-the-world masterpiece unfolds with such high tension, it's almost unbearable to watch. Watch anyway." (Read the full review...)
78 words, 11/10/11

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...a moving masterpiece... acutely attuned to feelings of despair that nevertheless leaves the viewer in a state of ecstasy." (Read the full review...)
464 words, 05/18/11

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"The luminous Dunst deservedly won the Best Actress prize at Cannes. Her incomparable performance, a slow accumulation of moods from despair to euphoria, never strikes a false note." (Read the full review...)
345 words, 11/11/11

Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE (cg)
"...it's not clear what von Trier's story is trying to convey, beyond wallowing in a dreary world." (Read the full review...)
447 words, 11/11/11

Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...here is a character who says, I see it coming, I will face it, I will not turn away, I will observe it as long as my eyes and my mind still function." (Read the full review...)
940 words, 11/11/11

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: VERY GOOD (cg)
"...even when I was getting a little fed up with the film, I was still almost entirely engaged by it." (Read the full review...)
721 words, 11/07/11

James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg)
"...a rich motion picture, full of nuances. Unfortunately, in his pursuit of an artistic vision, von Trier has thrown logic, physics, and coherence out the window." (Read the full review...)
941 words, 11/08/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING
"...an excursion from the sad to the sublime by way of the preposterous... not what anyone would call a feel-good movie, and yet it nonetheless leaves behind a glow of aesthetic satisfaction." (Read the full review...)
1,115 words, 11/11/11

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg)
"...meditative, spooky... unsettling and confounding but also beautiful and damned." (Read the full review...)
242 words, 11/11/11

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING
"Excessive in every way, and yet restrained. Everything and nothing that you'd expect a film called 'Melancholia' to be." (Read the full review...)
1,085 words, 11/11/11

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...one of the year's most emotionally resonant art movies.... as essential for serious filmgoers this year as 'The Tree of Life.' " (Read the full review...)
589 words, 11/11/11

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...a film made to confront and to be confronted." (Read the full review...)
655 words, 11/11/11

Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"Haunting and thought-provoking, though its relentless negativity won't sit well with all viewers." (Read the full review...)
357 words, 11/18/11

David Edelstein, New York Magazine: MODERATE
"It's a great, awful movie, a nihilist masterwork that settles over you like a shroud." (Read the full review...)
713 words, 11/07/11

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...here is a character who says, I see it coming, I will face it, I will not turn away, I will observe it as long as my eyes and my mind still function." (Read the full review...)
940 words, 11/11/11

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: EXCELLENT
"...an experiential movie, wondering (among other things) how doomsday might feel.... when I left the theater, I felt light, rejuvenated and unconscionably happy." (Read the full review...)
607 words, 05/18/11

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD (cg)
"Von Trier remains a potent writer/director and master manipulator of images and moods." (Read the full review...)
681 words, 11/11/11

Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD (cg)
"Life is finished. Then the story begins." (Read the full review...)
130 words, 09/11/11

Karina Longworth, LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING
"The Dunst/Von Trier collaboration is one for the ages..." (Read the full review...)
435 words, 11/03/11

Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT (cg)
"It's a little disjointed, but 'Melancholia' overcomes that weakness with a stellar cast and celestial images that burn themselves into your memory." (Read the full review...)
214 words, 11/10/11
KEY CITIES (13 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD (cg)
"...a broodingly downbeat self-portrait but also the inspiring work of an artist of seemingly boundless imaginative power." (Read the full review...)
569 words, 11/11/11

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...it could have been all over the map, but Kirsten Dunst inhabits this young woman - Justine, an ad agency up-and-comer - as if she has known her all her life." (Read the full review...)
278 words, 10/21/11

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...hard to watch and difficult to forget.... Kirsten Dunst displays new maturity.... The supporting cast is top-rank..." (Read the full review...)
398 words, 11/23/11

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...a hauntingly beautiful meditation on depression that is as likely to exasperate as many people as it moves.... an intense, exhausting experience." (Read the full review...)
651 words, 12/02/11

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE (cg)
"Lars von Trier is so certain of his misery that his films run the risk of turning smug. His blues are better than yours, and 'Melancholia' is a gorgeous, boring bummer." (Read the full review...)
593 words, 11/11/11

Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg)
"...von Trier's own ideas are so huge - at least to him - that the heroines in his movies aren't full human beings but just paper dolls, made to be manipulated." (Read the full review...)
574 words, 11/11/11

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE (cg)
"...all the virtues of 'Melancholia' are original and interesting. Meanwhile, its flaws are so typical and pedestrian." (Read the full review...)
558 words, 11/11/11

John Hartl, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg)
"Certainly it's easier to watch than von Trier's previous disaster epic, 'Antichrist,' thanks in part to the casting. John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling make an especially volatile ex-couple..." (Read the full review...)
324 words, 11/18/11

Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD (cg)
"The cast is nearly flawless, and we haven't even mentioned the marvelous John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling as Justine's messed-up parents." (Read the full review...)
512 words, 12/02/11

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg)
"...magnetically beautiful, but it's also an unformed mass of hot air." (Read the full review...)
361 words, 11/21/11

Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: POOR (cg)
"...could be paired with Terrence Malick's 'The Tree of Life' in a double feature of gorgeous tedium and vague, aimless ideas." (Read the full review...)
333 words, 12/01/11

Tom Long, Detroit News: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...has a haunting beauty that invades your soul." (Read the full review...)
442 words, 11/23/11

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...a tremendous, daring movie. Get ready to be rattled." (Read the full review...)
760 words, 11/18/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice: EXCELLENT
"...an experiential movie, wondering (among other things) how doomsday might feel.... when I left the theater, I felt light, rejuvenated and unconscionably happy." (Read the full review...)
607 words, 05/18/11

Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD (cg)
"Here's what we learn from 'Melancholia': life sucks, people are awful, we're all going to die, and good riddance. Who says Lars von Trier doesn't like happy endings?" (Read the full review...)
159 words, 11/10/11

Karina Longworth, LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING
"The Dunst/Von Trier collaboration is one for the ages..." (Read the full review...)
435 words, 11/03/11

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: MODERATE (cg)
"...there's a disconnect here between concept and execution -- 'Melancholia' feels like therapy poorly disguised as drama." (Read the full review...)
811 words, 05/18/11

Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: OUTSTANDING (cg)
"...isn't nearly as somber as its title would lead you to believe, and it's so beautiful to look at that it feels decadent, almost luxurious. It's also, for all its weirdness, reasonably accessible..." (Read the full review...)
1,148 words, 05/18/11

Ed Gonzalez, Slant: MODERATE (cg)
"...a film of few epiphanies and even fewer insights... it reflects the nihilistic world view of its maker, in this case von Trier's depressed view of life as not worth living." (Read the full review...)
902 words, 09/24/11

Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT (cg)
"It's a little disjointed, but 'Melancholia' overcomes that weakness with a stellar cast and celestial images that burn themselves into your memory." (Read the full review...)
214 words, 11/10/11

Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: EXCELLENT (cg)
"...can leave your worldview shaken to the core." (Read the full review...)
687 words, 11/23/11

MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: POOR (cg)
"...von Trier pornifies the destruction of humanity... it's the most ridiculous metaphor I think I've ever seen on film." (Read the full review...)
734 words, 11/02/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (7 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD
"...the tone can be pretentious, even silly. But it's disarmingly earnest at the same time, and rendered in such stunning images..." (Read the full review...)
549 words, 11/11/11

A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING
"...an excursion from the sad to the sublime by way of the preposterous... not what anyone would call a feel-good movie, and yet it nonetheless leaves behind a glow of aesthetic satisfaction." (Read the full review...)
1,115 words, 11/11/11

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: EXCELLENT
"Even if you loathe von Trier, and whatever the weather, please resist the lure of video on demand and go see 'Melancholia' [at the cinema] where it belongs." (Read the full review...)
939 words, 10/31/11

Bob Mondello, NPR: OUTSTANDING
"The first eight minutes of 'Melancholia' is so breathtaking, it's hard to imagine how the director can possibly follow it. Think of it as an overture..." (Read the full review...)
590 words, 11/11/11

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING
"Excessive in every way, and yet restrained. Everything and nothing that you'd expect a film called 'Melancholia' to be." (Read the full review...)
1,085 words, 11/11/11

Dana Stevens, Slate: MODERATE
"This is a hard movie to forget.... the audience are the ultimate lab animals for these experiments, and I'm not sure what we're being sacrificed to prove." (Read the full review...)
1,665 words, 11/11/11

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: OUTSTANDING
"There is tremendous pain in 'Melancholia,' but also ravishing beauty." (Read the full review...)
1,677 words, 05/18/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: OUTSTANDING
"...mind-blowing... doomsday looms as a planet hurtles toward Earth, but as in all great science fiction, this fantastical premise allows the artist to play sociologist." (Read the full review...)
1,042 words, 05/18/11

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK
"...manages to turn the end of the world into a bit of a bore... provides not an ounce of comfort or redemption, nor does it offer characters or ideas with which to meaningfully engage..." (Read the full review...)
1,035 words, 05/18/11

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING
"Excessive in every way, and yet restrained. Everything and nothing that you'd expect a film called 'Melancholia' to be." (Read the full review...)
1,085 words, 11/11/11

Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: EXCELLENT (cg)
"...at times, comes perilously close to being a shallow serio-comic melodrama about the end of the world. At others, it evokes the spiritual and lyrical sensibility of Andrei Tarkovsky..." (Read the full review...)
535 words, 09/07/11

A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING
"...an excursion from the sad to the sublime by way of the preposterous... not what anyone would call a feel-good movie, and yet it nonetheless leaves behind a glow of aesthetic satisfaction." (Read the full review...)
1,115 words, 11/11/11

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD
"...the tone can be pretentious, even silly. But it's disarmingly earnest at the same time, and rendered in such stunning images..." (Read the full review...)
549 words, 11/11/11
(cg) = based on the critic's grade

Review Mixture
23.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews
(Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)

Melancholia (2011)'s reviews are separated by an average 23.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.

Melancholia (2011)
(49 reviews)
Roll over dots for each review
Broad National   Alternative/Indie   Highbrow Press   Key Cities
NY, LA, Chicago, & Toronto Movie Industry  
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Moderate
Weak
Poor
Reviews
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Moderate
Weak
Poor
Reviews
Big
Publications
>Bigger
Publications
>Biggest
Publications
Coverage, Volume & Length

Coverage: Melancholia (2011)'s reviews cover 98.2% of potential readers (average is 68.2%). Volume: The film's reviews total 31,824 words in volume (average is 19,979 words). Length: The film's reviews average 650 words in length (the norm is 512 words).

Melancholia (2011)
Coverage, Volume & Length
(49 Reviews,  reviews below)
TotalBroad
National
Press
Local
News-
papers
Alter–
native/
Indie
High-
Brow
Press
Movie
Industry
NY/LA
Chicago
Toronto
Key
Cities
Total
B.O.
Coverage:
Volume:
Length:
98.2%
31,824
649
100.0%
6,175
618
94.6%
12,147
552
85.9%
5,697
633
100.0%
7,620
1,089
100.0%
5,361
894
96.1%
7,763
597
91.6%
6,353
489
$3.0M
Averages: 68.2%
19,979
512
66.7%
3,178
451
80.2%
10,677
521
80.8%
3,310
430
58.7%
2,374
630
85.2%
3,407
685
83.7%
5,861
500
73.0%
2,885
539
Opening Day Reviews
Reviews Broke 20 Days Before Release (Norm is 0.2 Release)

Melancholia (2011)'s reviews on average broke 20 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 0.2 hours after. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Melancholia (2011)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.

Melancholia (2011)
(49 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
M O R E    P O S I T I V E    R E V I E W S
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R
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E
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E
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M O R E    N E G A T I V E    R E V I E W S
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Updated: Sun, Mar 11 2012, 12:59pm
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