Uma Thurman recalls the “brutality” of Lars von Trier movie ‘Nymphomaniac’
The realm of experimental and avant-garde cinema is defined by controversy, whether that be due to the exploration of boundary-pushing, transgressive themes or the use of unconventional and challenging formal techniques. Lars von Trier is known for indulging in both, to differing effect.
Von Trier is about as controversial as they come, with most of his films inducing feelings of shock and potentially even nausea. Unconventional displays of violence and sexuality work their way into all of his movies, leaving many audiences distressed and mentally scarred from what they’ve just seen.
For example, in The House That Jack Built, von Trier is relentless in his depiction of unfathomable cruelty, even including point-of-view shots of the protagonist killing young children before forcing their mother to force-feed them on their picnic. That’s just one of many horrific things that happen in the film – and one of many works in von Trier’s oeuvre to contain such horrendous violence.
Many of his movies have also been criticised for being pornographic – none more than Nymphomaniac, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg as the eponymous character, detailing her sexual life with extremely graphic accompanying scenes. An actor who appeared in both The House That Jack Built and Nymphomaniac was Uma Thurman, joining actors such as Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård and Willem Dafoe as stars who have willingly worked with the provocateur more than once.
Thurman’s role in Nymphomaniac is not a leading part, but she certainly shines as the verbally aggressive character, Mrs H. Yet, she admitted in an interview with Du Jour that it was “a very difficult script.”
She added, “It’s really out of love for him and support for him as an artist that I would be like, ‘Oh, God, okay, we’ll try it.’ He liked to tease that I was obviously illiterate because I would have to be crazy to be in the movie. Fair enough.”
She called the work “savage,” continuing, “It’s brutal. It’s about brutality; sad, twisted humour that’s also tragic and horrifying.” Nymphomaniac remains one of von Trier’s most controversial works due to its explicit nature and lengthy runtime of five-and-half hours, which led the film to be released in two parts.
Thurman was pleased to be part of something so shocking and divisive, however, comparing her experience of acting in it to being in a stage play. The actor revealed at a talk in New York (via Film at Lincoln Center), “I was thrilled to discover that Lars von Trier’s reputation was true,” adding, “I had the great opportunity you typically only get on stage to play through the emotions she [Mrs. H] experiences.”
Watch a clip of Thurman in Nymphomaniac below.
