If, as Alfred Hitchcock says, “The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder,” it would seem Lars Von Trier has got it all wrong. Though the Picturehouse were particularly cruel in screening the two parts of his Nymphomaniac back-to-back (albeit with a brief, merciful interval), each part tips the scales at just over two hours. You would think that this, coupled with the often brutal viscerality of the film, would make it unwatchable. Yet Von Trier’s particular skill is not to overlay the drama, which is spread sufficiently evenly so as neither to bore, nor to overwhelm his audience.

Given Stacy Martin’s insistence in the post-screening Q&A that she and Charlotte Gainsbourg never explicitly discussed the protagonist whose role they share, the consistency of the characterisation of Joe across the two parts is impressive. Martin’s visible confidence and sexual candour demonstrate a maturity that belies her inexperience. Gainsbourg, who plays the older Joe, grates as the self-pitying narrator of Volume I, though by Volume II is showing off her characteristic ease in even this most demanding of roles - one which verges on psychosis. Smaller roles, however, are more of a mixed bag: on the upside, we have Jamie Bell shining as a sunken-eyed sadomasochist; on the downside, we have Shia LaBeouf’s hopelessly inscrutable accent.
Rivkah Brown

While nudity, sex and violence pervade the film, the humour and humanity prevail. Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), has been beaten up and is taken in by Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard). Their one-room conversation drives the narrative, framing Joe’s recollections under chapter headings inspired by objects in the room. The flitting back from Joe’s stories to the room to show Seligman’s reactions provides the comedy. The audience sees his bewildered expressions; his geeky digressions inspired by the stories are delightfully innocent and contrast with Joe’s expectation of judgement.

Nymphomaniac is a narratively and thematically dense film, it as much a story about life as it is about sex. The overarching importance of nature and Joe’s search for her ‘soul tree’ underline the crux of the film, the desire to become settled with oneself. However, as with any Von Trier film, there is no satisfying or resolved ending. Von Trier has instead highlighted and problematised the link between marginalisation and female desire.
Rebecca Rosenberg