That Movie You Should Watch On Netflix Instead of Melancholia or Jack & Jill

By The Hairpin November 11, 2011

by Bobby Finger

Melancholia opens and closes with [spoiler alert?] the end of the world. Director Lars von Trier removes all uncertainty, showing us that Earth and all its inhabitants will be obliterated by the film’s end — that there will be no twist, only death. And the feeling of dread that’s present throughout Melancholia is similar to the one found in the trailer for Happy Madison Productions’ dark new drama Jack & Jill. No, unlike Melancholia I have not seen Jack & Jill in its entirety, but those two minutes and 30 seconds of promotional footage were all I needed to decide it is as devastating as von Trier’s haunting meditation on depression and the apocalypse.

Melancholia is worth seeing for its opening and closing segments alone, but this column is about streaming alternatives to theatrical releases, not theatrical releases themselves. So here are some recommendations based on the dark, hypnotic imagery from both of the film’s trailers.