Great Film overall

As Good As It Gets

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I dispute what appears to be the central contention of this movie - that Jo simply exercises her inherent right to find fulfillment in any way she deems necessary. Behavior like hers is the reason we have courts and a legal system. Also, her character's lack of a moral compass reflects directly in her partial downfall near the end of the movie.As far as experience, this tedious film manages to make sex quite ugly, painful and violent. Jo is a monster, an animal.I'm motivated to write this review only because of the last 10 minutes or so. Jo's young friend P betrays her by urinating on her as she lays battered in an alley, which itself resulted from unsuccessfully attempting to kill P's sex partner.Seligman rescues her and is kind to her for the duration of this movie and helps her assemble her thoughts - acting like the best kind of friend. He shows her why the handgun she failed to shoot needs to be racked in order to shoot.At the very end, after professing their mutual friendship, he makes a foolish attempt to rape her while she's sleeping. Except that she should have realized with her life experience that a sexless man who hears her stories when they are both in a private living quarters situation may draw an unwanted conclusion (not saying that she was asking for it, but that she invited his sexual attention.) In response to this attempted violation, after having sex with thousands of men in the past, she used her new handgun knowledge (courtesy of Seligman himself) to kill one of the few people who have ever been kind to her, and she apparently leaves his flat right afterward - end of the film.Jo is a moral void. There's no lesson or story here that illuminates human behavior. The ending is completely random. Actually, it would have been quite gratifying to see Jo killed after Seligman's death. Hey, at least this movie has lots of realistic penises. I feel more self confident after watching it. :)

Wow. This is a powerful drama. I group this with Volume 1 and say that most of the acting is pretty freaking amazing. Christian Slater's portrayal of Joe's father in the Hospital? It was chilling because it seemed so realistic. I've been bed side to that event...I know what it looks like. The calm at times...and uncontrolled panic the next.I had a feeling the ending may have been what it was. I have to not say too much but; it did wrap it up with a tragic irony.The movie draws upon advanced concepts within music, religion and art to converse at a brilliant level about metaphor transferable between each and how it relates to the story being told. Genius.There is some very graphic sexuality though I wouldn't consider it pornographic but more there for dramatic impact. As much as I loved this movie, if I had been even 10 years younger, I might not have been able to appreciate it as much as I did.

I have written quite exhaustive review of this movie but Socialist State of IMDb kinda prohibits some words - but in a very Kafkaesque manner does not explain which ones. That's somewhat unfortunate as the movie Nymphomaniac can only be described by words that describe some mature content activities. I mean some really depraved mature content activities.Even though there is a lot of mature activity going around in this four hour long movie it is also unbelievably dull and boring. It is really hard to describe four hours long intellectual exchange so to speak between utterly depraved female character that seems to ask for understanding and her supposed intellectual savior. Philosophy, music, arts, the topics you would expect to be discussed between an old loner and insane sex addict - at least if you are modern intellectual leftist. It is so excruciatingly boring, long and really painful to watch. I kinda loved early Trier works like Kingdom Hospital but this is just beyond horrible. The main female character is supposed to be some sort of female suffering from masculine and capitalist oppression, but she only abuses others - males, females, her own son, everyone. Its sick character only getting sicker as movie progresses. There is no resolution at the end, no salvation, no conclusion, no mercy, no atonement, not a single spark of light at the end of the tunnel. The main heroine is simply sick psychopath who should be treated at the closed psychiatric ward as she descends just from from perverted to simply dangerous and evil.

Both films touch on a subject that most people will never likely encounter. It is a psychological/philosophical/sociological drama that requires and open mind and an understanding that goes beyond typical social expectations.The sex scenes are crude, but they are complementary to the subject matter. This is not a film about porn or sex, it is about a condition that most people will fail to understand.The film(s) are refreshing in the sense that they are not mainstream or Hollywood, they attempt to put into perspective many subjects which society prefers to ignore..Not for the faint of heart but definitely worth watching.