There’s a sneaking suspicion that Lars von Trier has only recently found his true calling – as an ace stealth marketing exec rather than an filmmaker. He’s become a master at building up the sizzle that emanates from beneath the steak, dropping hints in the lengthy run-up period to the film’s eventual release. And who are we not to pick up on his tantalising breadcrumb trail?
The latest revelation is that von Trier is someone who reads the criticism of his films. When his two-part sex folly Nymphomaniac was released to cinemas in 2013, most were in agreement that a small supporting turn by Uma Thurman was a – if not the – highlight of the entire epic.
And so, he has brought her back into the fold for The House that Jack Built, his story of a serial killer’s coming of age, starring ’90s icon Matt Dillon.
With Riley Keough and Sofie Gråbøl (of TV’s The Killing fame) already involved, alongside the German veteran Bruno Ganz, von Trier has also announced that the film, which goes into production in Sweden in March 2017, also stars Siobhan Fallon Hogan, who worked with the director on his 2000 anti-musical, Dancer in the Dark.
He has said that this new film, “celebrates the idea that life is evil and soulless” so seems like it’s business as usual for one of Europe’s most unflinching directors.
Published 8 Mar 2017
There’s something powerful here, but von Trier hasn’t quite managed to force it through the screen.
The Danish director has teased his upcoming serial killer thriller.
Lars von Trier’s two-part psychosexual epic makes for invigorating, profound and occasionally baffling viewing.
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