Penelope Cruz To Star In Lars Von Trier's Melancholia

Published on February 10, 2010 by Martyn Conterio · View Comments

penelope_cruz_reference For those who endured the mental-breakdown-on-film entitled Antichrist, news that Danish maestro, Lars von Trier, is lining up Spanish beauty Penelope Cruz to star in his new film might be a horrifying prospect. Trier is well known for reducing his leading ladies to utter despair and beyond – all in the name of artistic excellence and cinematic sadism.

The director has said he wrote the screenplay with Cruz in mind and it looks like she’s accepted the challenge. According to The Playlist, Cruz has committed (and may be committed after filming) to the project. Trier is a man who so infuriated Bjork during Dancer in the Dark, she began to eat her own cardigan.

Melancholia has been described by its director as a psychological disaster movie. Aren’t they all like that? If there’s anything more traumatic than watching a Lars von Trier film, do let me know. The man’s entire corpus of work is centred on the destruction of women by manipulative men. He has been mocked in the past for all sorts of cinematic crimes, but the Danish King of Filmmaking doesn’t give a shite what journalists think. Not one jot. Getting Charlotte Gainsbourg’s character in Antichrist to cut off her clitoris seemed the final straw for many. Can he be redeemed? Apart from Mel Gibson and Martin Scorsese, Trier is probably the most Catholic filmmaker working today.

And now it seems he’s no longer interested in destroying characters and now wants to destroy the whole planet! He’s a happy soul, isn’t he? The project is gearing up to shoot later in the year, with the intent of having the film ready to outrage Cannes in May, 2011. Can’t hardly wait!