121 Melancholia (B-)

Man, I really wanted this to be good.  It came recommended and I think I enjoyed pieces of it, but they just drug it out.  Cut 1 hour and redo a few scenes and perhaps you have a jem.  I don't know man...just couldn't love it.  But will say the last 3 minutes are pretty eye opening.

The plot of the movie, the point to it all...the premise - 100% fantastic (basically following a small family through their final few days on Earth as they wait for a planetary collision).  Hell, even the vibe they are trying to portray throughout is totally super great - but man....at 1 hour and like 30 minutes in...mid-way through the "Claire" saga....I was about to scream at the TV.  Just moved too slow.

The first 5 minutes with all the surreal footage was fantastic.  Reminded me a bit of Antichrist.  Then the entire wedding night was odd and okay, and I enjoyed watching it....then they killed it with part 2.  I don't even know what else to say.  I literally was ready for the "flyby" to squash the hell out of them.  Hell, during "Justine" I even enjoyed the part where they were trying to drive the limo and were stuck.  

A funny thing about the hail scene is a memory that triggers from this morning - on my way into work today there were small seeds releasing themselves, with white feathery "parachutes"...but the odd thing was that they flew down like snow in parts and also it occurred the ENTIRE drive to work.  As in, approximately 45 minutes over many different sceneries.  To me, being an ecologist, that is odd.  Speaking of science and physics, the end is totally unrealistic - I'd imagine.  There would be more craziness and storms etc.

Two days later this film still resides with me.  I agree still that they made it too long and the 2nd half was crazy and not good for the film, but because it still is in my mind and I've been thinking about the overall feel and message - I have actually agreed with myself to come back to this review and bump it up an entire letter grade from C- to B-.  Good day.