The House That Jack Built (2018)

Director: Lars Von Trier
Stars: Matt Dillon, Bruno Ganz, Uma Thurman
Runtime: 152 minutes

Synopsis: Jack recounts 5 randomly selected incident that cemented his reputation as a psychopathic serial killer.

• Performances: 9/10

Why? A chilling performance to say the least. Matt Dillon's portrayal of the titular character showed a side of the actor I never knew existed. Dillon understood Jack. Dillon became Jack. I was convinced from the very first scene that I was actually watching a character who had killed people in the past with no regrets whatsoever. A character you can't help but despise and admire at the same time. I would've given this category a perfect grade had some supporting characters played their parts a bit more effectively (I'm looking at you, Jeremy Davies), but thankfully, they didn't have that big of an impact on the film to affect it that much.

• Screenplay: 8/10

Why? Philosophical, violent, and most of all, disturbing, "The House That Jack Built" is exactly what you'd expect from a Lars Von Trier project. The Danish director crafted what is without a doubt the most controversial and divisive film of 2018. And I kind of loved it. Not only is it built around some very interesting concepts and themes that will make you look at life from a different, depressing perspective, but it also revolves around a fascinating character in Jack, a psychopath suffering from OCD. The film, however, is not perfect, as it does feel repetitive and a bit obnoxious at times despite leading to a finale that will leave any literary lover in awe.   

• Costumes/Makeup: 7/10

Why? As you probably guessed by now, the movie depicts very graphic murder scene filled with blood and gore. The murders themselves looked quite authentic, unlike the corpses showed later on that weren't as convincing. A good effort nevertheless despite that issue.

• Editing: 4/10

Why? My main problem with the film was the way it was edited. The runtime of  over two an a half hours is completely unjustified as there were many repetitive scenes that didn't need to be featured. I also felt that the exposition wasn't handled carefully with many scenes not really fitting the philosophical aspect of the film that doesn't allow the audience to interpret the themes tackled on their own.

• Cinematography: 8/10

Why? Through the use of shaky cam, out of focus shots, and random zoom ins, Lars does the impossible to make the movie as ugly as possible, which makes a lot of sense given the film's recurring themes. That technique was used until the very end when it switches from ugly to gorgeous in a second, a decision I found to be extremely interesting due to the direction the film takes that I won't spoil.

• Score/Soundtrack: 7/10

Why? It was creepy, it was unnerving, and it was extremely repetitive to the point where I got sick of it. The classical music used in the last 20 minutes was beautiful though, unlike the song used in the end credits which granted was funny, but felt extremely out of place.  

FINAL GRADE: 8/10