Persona non grata no more. After being banned from Cannes Film Festival for his Hitler-related remarks back during the Melancholia premiere, Lars von Trier is returning to France in just a few weeks to premiere his serial killer drama The House That Jack Built. Following a teaser trailer, a set of new images arrives, which reveal our first look at Uma Thurman (reteaming with the director after her iconic Nymphomaniac scene), and more of the ensemble.
Featuring the cast of Matt Dillon, Bruno Ganz, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Sofie Gråbøl, Riley Keough, and Jeremy Davies, the film spans 12 years and will be split into “five incidents” (aka the murders) and then the “digressions” in between, as Jack attempts to create the “ultimate artwork” in his vocation. Ahead of our review, see a new synopsis below, along with new images and a recent 25-minute interview with von Trier as he discusses his upcoming film, past work, and more.
USA in the 1970s. We follow the highly intelligent Jack through 5 incidents and are introduced to the murders that define Jack’s development as a serial killer. We experience the story from Jack’s point of view. He views each murder as an artwork in itself, even though his dysfunction gives him problems in the outside world. Despite the fact that the final and inevitable police intervention is drawing ever near (which both provokes and puts pressure on Jack) he is – contrary to all logic – set on taking greater and greater chances. The goal is the ultimate artwork: A collection of all his killings manifested in a House that he builds. Along the way we experience Jack’s descriptions of his personal condition, problems and thoughts through a recurring conversation with the unknown Verge – a grotesque mixture of sophistry mixed with an almost childlike self-pity and in-depth explanations of, for Jack, dangerous and difficult manoeuvres.
The House That Jack Built premieres at Cannes and opens this fall via IFC Films.