Review: The House That Jack Built (2018)

Directed by Lars von Trier

Starring: Matt Dillon, Bruno Ganz

The plot follows follows Jack, a serial killer, over the course of 12 years in the 1970s and 1980s in the U.S. state of Washington

First of all, I'm going to say I'm not really a massive fan of Lars Von Trier, and by saying that, I actually mean I haven't seen any of his films apart from Melancholia. When I heard about this film, all I heard were the bad things, and how there were walk-outs during Cannes. With my sudden curiosity, I knew I had to see this film, and I actually liked it.

The plot is told through 5 incidents over the course of his 12 years as a serial killer. While the incidents are pretty straight forward, the plot itself is deep and resolves around philosophy, morals, and society. I actually liked this method of storytelling and enjoyed Matt Dillon's realistic discussions with Bruno Ganz's character. Lars von Trier is a man of controversy, and well if you don't already know, the reason for many of the walk-outs was because of a certain segment which included violence against children. That being said, even with the film's violent and disturbing tone, there existed some humor, and it was funny at times. Matt Dillon was excellent in his role, and executed his OCD and antisocial character perfectly. I feel his performance was overshadowed by the film's controversy, it'a shame because he was quite good and pretty funny. There is some pacing issues with the film, and I would argue some points in the film were really insignificant and don't relate or have any meaning.

The visuals and cinematography were good. I have to mention that if you don't already know, this film is really violent and disturbing, and you will not enjoy it, if you can't tolerate the film (ironically enough there is also an unrated version of the film, like it wasn't violent already). The use of music in the film was good, but gets tiring overtime, as it is often played back throughout the entire film.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed the film, and is certainly a unique film about a serial killer. Loved Matt Dillon's performance, and he made the film much more enjoyable even with it's inconsistent pacing. I recommend the film, unless you can't handle it's disturbing and extremely violent presentation. If you will be watching it, you are up for one hell of a wild ride.

My rating: 8.0/10

#FilmReview #2018