★ 6 / 10
Picking up from the first outing for our
CinemaSerf
Picking up from the first outing for our sex-addict "Joe" (Charlotte Gainsbourg) we continue with her recounting of her life to Stellan Skarsgård as her life…
Picking up from the first outing for our sex-addict "Joe" (Charlotte Gainsbourg) we continue with her recounting of her life to Stellan Skarsgård as her life becomes slightly more settled; she lives with "Jerome" (Shia LeBeouf) and has a child. That, however, serves as a temporary, slight, distraction from her insatiable desire to push her body to the limits of sexual, and now physical endurance. Finding that she no longer feels satisfied by any form of sexual encounter, she turns to more masochistic endeavours and this, to be fair - especially the scenes with Jamie Bell - are tough to watch. Indeed, this film shows us more of the controlling aspects of "Joe" as she no longer reacts to her nature, but now appears to be capable more of nurturing her desires. That robs this sequel of the honesty and integrity of the first film; she is now much more in control of her choices and therefore susceptible to criticism - and her choices are reactionary, short sighted and just plain stupid. By the last half hour she has lost any interest and/or sympathy I ever had and what started out as quite a fascinating look at female sexuality desire and obsession at it's most raw becomes a sort of poor pseudo-psychology exercise.
★ 6 / 10
That one scene!
SoumikBanerjee1996
Discomforting, perturbing, obnoxiously gross, I do not know how else to summarise my experience. It is way more blunt, unapologetic than Volume I, there is not…
Discomforting, perturbing, obnoxiously gross, I do not know how else to summarise my experience. It is way more blunt, unapologetic than Volume I, there is not a single major path pertaining to sexuality left behind to tread.Previously it put emphasis on 'sensationalism', whereas this time around the focus is more on the "visual" side of it or rather the degree of depravity & cynicism that lurk beneath the surface!I almost got startled when it momentarily switched to a 'medical exhibition', that whole scene (you'll know what I am referring to, if you have seen the movie) made me uncomfortable, mind you, I'm generally desensitised to distasteful stuff owning to dozens of repulsive features I have borne witness to. But that one sequence tested my tolerance! There are not many films out there I can give the same compliment to!
★ 7 / 10
The descent into darkness of Joe.
fciocca
While the first volume of 'Nymphomaniac' served the purpose to build up the character of Joe, this second part is the descent into complete darkness of this…
While the first volume of 'Nymphomaniac' served the purpose to build up the character of Joe, this second part is the descent into complete darkness of this woman, who loses any kind of control. Here we see all the negative consequences that her addiction brings into her life. This chapter is tougher to watch, because the images used are very graphic and explicit. The plot is showing Joe slowly but inevitably spiraling down into a very dangerous path and the more we go on, the worse things get. The protagonist is completely detached from reality and the director managed very well to create this sensation of alienation on screen. Some shootings are surreal and I felt a constant feeling of loneliness for a person that basically cannot find any kind of satisfaction anymore. This film hits pretty hard, and it is not for everyone. I watched the director's cut of both chapters, which were rawer and longer compared to the normal cinematic release. I cannot really make a comparison between the two versions, but I feel that despite their length, by the end of the two movies we have a full picture of Joe's story, which is rich with compelling details. So, my recommendation would definitely be to retrieve the extended version.The cast is composed of many great actors. I loved to see Willem Defoe, even though he had just a small part that granted just a few minutes of screentime. I loved Mia Goth in 'X: A Sexy Horror Story' and 'Pearl', so I was very happy to see her in this film as well. She is good, but unfortunately she appears only in the latest 40 minutes of the film. I liked the interpretation of K by Jamie Bell. Despite being aggressive, he was an interesting character that enabled a part of Joe that was hidden. The photography is amazing, however in terms of creative editing choices, I preferred the first film. This one at times looked a bit flat and boring. I think that some images are just too cruel. In this case, they really do not serve any purpose to the story. I get that Lars Von Trier wanted to create a shock effect, but in my perspective it was unnecessary. Overall my rate for this last chapter is slightly lower than the first one: 7.2. However this is an incredible movie that exposed several controversial topics such as abortion, sex addiction and it questioned many aspects of human relationship back in 2013, where these kinds of topics were taboo for the most part. 'Nymphomaniac' is in my perspective a pioneering film that you should absolutely watch.
6.6/10
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why is the audio so high pitched