Lars Von Trier is famously persona non grata at the Cannes Film Festival after he, uh, expressed sympathy for Adolf Hitler (never a good idea), but he seems to be doing quite well there regardless, as IFC have just acquired the rights to distribute his next feature, The House That Jack Built.
Set in the US in the 1970s, the film follows a serial killer (Matt Dillon) who reportedly views every individual murder as a work of art. It’ll follow the highly intelligent man through five murders that chart his psychological development as a serial killer and will be told entirely from his point of view and explain precisely what he thinks ‘art’ is. This combination of artistic expression through extreme violence is extremely Lars Von Trier, so the film should prove fertile creative ground for him.
Apparently, the killer spends much of the movie in conversation with a mysterious character named Verge (played by Bruno Ganz), who quizzes him on his actions and feelings. Joining Dillon and Ganz will be Uma Thurman, Riley Keough and Yu Ji-tae, possibly playing either his victims or the police who pursue the psychopath, hoping to stop him from striking again.
The House That Jack Built began development as a TV series before Von Trier decided it’d work better as a feature film, and is due to begin shooting later this year with a projected release date in 2018. The famously moody Danish auteur might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but with this cast and the promising description, I can’t wait to see what horrible things he’s got in store for us this time.
