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NYMPHOMANIAC : VOLUME 2 – The Review

By Melissa Howland | April 15, 2014

Lars von Trier’s NYMPHOMANIAC : VOLUME 2 takes us on a dark journey down the second half of a nymphomaniacs tale of lust, desire, and pain.

NYMPHOMANIAC : VOLUME 2 picks up right where Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourge) left off as delves deeper about her into her life as a nymphomaniac to stranger named Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard) who had found her bloody and beaten in an ally. This half of the story begins with her discovering new love with her old fling Jerome (Shia LaBeouf) and eventually starting a family with him, but the film starts to become quite darker than the first as Joe loses her ability to achieve orgasm and goes to drastic, and even dangerous lengths to find pleasure again.

For reference, here is my review of NYMPHOMANIAC : VOLUME 1

As I stated in my previous review, most people assume that Lars von Trier is going to fill this film with a ton of pornographic, sexually explicit acts. Despite the pounding music and flashy images that the trailers showcase… those people would be wrong. Although there are sex scenes that beg the question as to whether the actors were actually having sex (which they are not according multiple accounts from the actors during their recent press tour), the film did not make such graphic scenes a habit. Also, graphic scenes are kept very short. Once their impact (no pun intended) was made, von Trier was on to the next scene. Hopefully, we’ve moved past this since this is the second installment. You will want to see Volume 1 prior to this film.

This film deals a bit more with Joe’s personal relationships, and proves that despite finding love, the need to fulfill her sexual appetite is inevitably something that she cannot control. It’s even stronger than her desire to be a mother, which leads her to leave her child alone in his crib one night to engage in a late night S&M session. Joe also propositions an African man on the street, only to find that he has brought a friend for, as she calls it, a “sandwich”. Although that was in no way her intent, she stayed to participate.

Joe begins to attend meetings for sex addicts, but refuses to call herself an addict. Instead, she has embraced the term “nymphomaniac” and prefers to use the term in describing herself. It seemed, in that moment, that she had a firm grip on who she was, and chose to accept it. It was a powerful moment that did not last. Once embracing her vagina, Joe had put herself through so much wear and tear that she becomes ashamed of it… damaging it so much that she no longer lets others see. This is where we really start to see the emotional side of Joe, rather than the robotic being we see in her sex scenes.

All of the above still make for a good story. The part where they lose me is the late introduction to the character of P (Mia Goth). Joe has found her calling as a debt collector, and a good one at that. At the suggestion of her boss, she decides to take on a protégée. At first, her and P are inseparable, but P soon betrays Joe by falling for her ex-lover Jerome. The full circle story, for me, wasn’t something that needed to happen. I was more than pleased with the slope that her life had taken. It seemed real. The addition on P and this silly little twist took me out of the movie. The only twist that was really necessary, although predictable, was the very last twist with Seligman. This isn’t an M. Night Shyamalan movie… we don’t need to make it more complicated with added twists! Keep the film raw.

I’m glad that they split the two films apart. I really just wish that they wouldn’t have cheapened the second film with that extra love story triangle. For me, it was enough to put a dent in the film.