Nymphomaniac: Volume I
(2013)Forget about love.
Part one of the highly explicit, two volume tale of a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac from cinematic provocateur Lars von Trier (Antichrist). Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) recounts her sexual experiences as a young woman (Stacey Martin) while at the home of the man (Stellan Skarsgård) helping her recover from a brutal beating. Nymphomaniac: Volume II is in release separately.... More
On a cold winter evening, a bachelor finds Joe (Gainsbourg) beaten up in an alley. He brings her home to his flat where he cares for her and asks about her life. He listens, as Joe tells her multifaceted erotic story that begins in childhood and into the sexual experiences of her teens and young adult life.
The movie's graphic scenes were created using prosthetic genitals in some scenes, and body doubles and special effects in others. Explains producer Lousie Vesth: "We shot the actors pretending to have sex and then had the body doubles, who really did have sex, and in post we will digital impose the two. So above the waist it will be the star and the below the waist it will be the doubles."
Nymphomaniac has courted controversy not just for its content, but also for the antics of co-star Shia LaBeouf. At Berlin Film Festival, LeBeouf wore a paper bag on his head on the red carpet, then walked out of the press conference after quoting Eric Cantona.Hide
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Directed by Lars von Trier
Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Bell, Stacey Martin, Christian Slater, Connie Nielsen, Willem Dafoe, Jesper Christensen, Jens Albinus, Nicolas Bro, Udo Kier, Shanti Roney, Hugo Speer, Uma Thurman
Written by Lars von Trier
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
Available from 1 providers
Flicks Review
BY Steve Newall Flicks Writer
If anyone was going make a film called Nymphomaniac it's Lars von Trier. All the more so, as it chronicles the erotic awakening of Joe, a young woman who spirals into sex addiction and extreme experiences as an adult. What’s surprising about Nymphomaniac though is how over its insane four hour running time (cut down from five-and-a-half!) it proves unexpectedly funny and light-hearted at times, though this is juxtaposed against some uncomfortable physicality and psychology.... More
Split into two volumes of equal length, Nymphomaniac comprises a series of chapters detailing Joe’s experiences as recounted by her adult self (Charlotte Gainsbourg) to the curious Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård), in whose home she recovers from a savage assault. These moments provide the most humour, though Gainsbourg covers too-familiar ground with a character that doesn’t depart enough from similar performances in von Trier’s Antichrist and Melancholia. That’s right, she’s a bit annoying.
Luckily most of Volume 1 sees newcomer Stacey Martin as the younger Joe, and she’s exactly the actress the role requires, comfortably moving along a continuum from innocent to precocious, soon experienced sexually but not as wise or cunning as she’d like to think. There’s not as much levity to Volume 2, which arrives after a welcome intermission and details Gainsbourg’s less amusing journey, but strangely neither half of the film is as titillating as one would think. There’s certainly no shortage of – there’s no way to sugar-coat this – f-cking, sometimes in graphic detail, but arousal does not appear to be on von Trier’s agenda. Instead Nymphomaniac serves up a sprawling take on sexuality that is frequently ridiculous, often extreme and ultimately views its subject from the singular perspective of an inimitable filmmaker indeed.Hide
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Nymphomaniac: Volume I
The Press Reviews
77%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Annoys me, repels me, and I think I might love it. It's an abusive relationship; I need to see it again. Full Review
This smorgasbord of talk and sex constitutes a very full meal. Full Review
A ferociously entertaining experience in which one finds von Trier at the peak of his craft, linking together ideas about female sexuality, fly-fishing and artistic creation with equal amounts of playfulness and intellectual rigor Full Review
Wild, sprawling... an orgy of the sublime and the ridiculous. Full Review
[A] major work from a major director. Full Review
Less drop-dead gorgeous than Antichrist but significantly more human. Full Review
With explicit sex and penetrating philosophy, this erotic odyssey requires close attention and an open mind. Full Review
A provocative, engrossing, often hilarious, frequently tough picture. Full Review
This venture into sexuality has such an undercurrent of sadism that I was, not repelled, but distanced. Full Review
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